~~~~CHOCOLATE CHIP SCONES ~~~~

I would like to share with you my sons favorite Scone recipe.

Chocolate Chip Scones

3 cups of all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1/3cup of plain yogurt
1/2 cup of semi sweet chocolate chips

Mix flour and baking powder in a bowl. In the large bowl with an electric mixer, beat butter on high speed until creamy.
Add sugar and beat 3-5 minutes until pale and fluffy.
Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition.

Scrape sides of bowl; reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture; mixing only until blended. Scrape sides ; add yogurt and mix only until blended. Remove the bowl, sprinkling chocolate chips over the batter and fold in.
Scoop 1/3 cupfuls of dough onto an ungreased cookie sheet, placing the mounds about 2 inches apart. (an ice cream scoop speeds scooping).


Loosely cover dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate about 45 minutes (or freeze and when hard, remove to a plastic bag and freeze for up to 6 weeks).
Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Uncover scones and bake 15 minutes. Turn heat down to 325 degrees F and bake about 13 minutes longer or until pale golden brown.





Cool in a clean cotton towel on your counter top, or on a wire rack.



I keep them in a glass container or plastic bag to keep them fresh! Yum!

Enjoy!!!

Dainties and Stones

I have always been a bit of an entrepreneur. I would like to think I have an adventurous spirit but truthfully, I think I just bore easily and enjoy change. I think that is why I enjoy Art. If you tire of one medium you just move onto the next.

Several years ago before I picked up a paintbrush, I created with dough. Not the kind that is green and kept in banks (although that was my intention), but specifically sweet dough in the form of Scones. In 1992 I wanted to earn some extra money but still be home with my two year old son Evan (who referred to them as “stones”) . We loved to bake together and enjoyed creating all flavors of scones, jams and lemon curd and as you can imagine my family loved sampling my sweet concoctions. Someone suggested I approach the numerous Bed and Breakfasts in the Kennebunks. Most innkeepers were delighted at the idea so thus my business “Dainties” was born. I licensed my kitchen and happen to find a food scientist at the University of Maine that was intrigued. Scones and Lemon Curd weren't really well known or even available in the US market. He decided to assist me in my Cottage Industry and help make my products shelf stable for commercial distribution. This was great since it was usually thousands of dollars to hire someone to take on such a production and my husband was unemployed at the time. We worked for several months in my kitchen specifically with making the Lemon Curd shelf stable (which I decided to call Lemon Butter since most Americans associated Curds with cottage cheese and had a most unappealing expression at the mention of Lemon Curd) . Unfortunately, a disastrous personal matter took this scientist away literally overnight with a move to Atlanta, Ga., and basically curtailed the project.

I never regretted giving the idea a try as you always gain some insight in the process. I only wish we had the capital to follow the idea to fruition because within a few years scones were literally popping up everywhere in cafes, bakeries, and on shelves as mixes in grocery stores. So I think we really were onto something. My son, however was thrilled to have his Mommy back full time and truthfully all the money in the world wouldn't give me the pleasure I received when making “stones” with him.

(for kicks ~ click on the photo to zoom in on my "menu" )

"The rational and peaceable instrument of reform, the suffrage of the people. "
Thomas Jefferson ~ Remember to get out there and vote America!

Altered Ribbon ~ Craft Tutorial

This weeks tutorial feature provides the perfect adornment for all your gift packages this Holiday Season. Kate has been selling online for over 12 years and has a strong creative and entrepreneurial spirit. She is the very busy owner of five Etsy supply shops. Beckandcallgirl is a shop with a variety of mixed media supplies. My personal favorites are her Specialty Fibers that are hand-selected by Kate who has a great eye for blending complimentary colors and textures. She also offers a great variety of unique beads, buttons, sequins and supplies in her other shops BeadBlanketBingo , VintageCallGirl, SupplyCandy and Glamarama.
This weeks recommended craft feature is creating your own personalized Altered Ribbon:
http://beckandcallgirl.blogspot.com/2008/11/altered-ribbon-how-to.html

I love the personal nature of this very thoughtful embellishment you can add to each and every gift this holiday season. This tutorial was originally posted on her blog on Sunday 11/02/08. All components for this craft are available at BeckAndCallGirl or SupplyCandy