Scones

Ingredients

• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 3 tbsp sugar
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp salt
• ½ cup chilled unsalted butter, cut into ¼ inch pieces
• 1 cup raisins
• 3 eggs divided
• 1 cup and 1 tbsp milk, divided

Method

1. Preheat oven to 450°F. Spray large baking sheet with vegetable oil cooking spray.
2. In large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
3. With pastry blender or two knives, cut butter into flour mixture until the particles are the size of small peas. Stir in raisins.
4. In a medium bowl, beat 2 eggs lightly with 1 cup of milk.
5. Add to flour mixture, stir until just mixed.
6. On a lightly floured surface, knead dough gently. Pat or roll out onto a circle ½ inch thick.
7. Using a lightly greased and floured 3 inch biscuit cutter, cut into rounds, cutting close together to generate as few scraps as possible.
8. Dip cutter into flour as often as necessary to keep dough from sticking.
9. Push scraps of dough together so that edges join, firmly pinch edges with fingertips to make a partial seal.
10. Pat remaining dough ½ inch thick and continue to cut rounds.
11. Space 1" apart on prepared baking sheet.
12. Work with the dough quickly and don't over mix.
13. In small bowl, combine 1 egg and 1 tbsp milk and brush onto scones.
14. Bake 15-18 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and serve warm with jam and cream.

Note: Makes 12-14 scones.

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Vanilla Walnut Cupcakes

Ingredients: (8 to 10 cupcakes)

• All Purpose Flour / Maida - 1 and half a Cup
• Baking Powder - 1/2 tbsp
• Baking Soda - 1/4 tsp
• Butter - 50 gms
• Sugar - 1/2 cup
• Vanilla essence - 2 tsp's
• Egg's - 2
• Warm Milk - 2 tbsp's
• Chopped Walnuts - 4 tbsp's

Method:

1. Pre-Heat the Oven at 190C for 10 minutes. Line the Muffin Pans or grease the muffin pans with little butter, if you dont have muffin lining papers.
2. Sift the Flour, Baking Powder and Baking Soda atleast three times.
3. Powder the Sugar.
4. In a Mixing Bowl, Have the butter at room temperature. add powdered sugar and beat well either with a hand whisk or hand blender.
5. After Creaming the Butter with Sugar, Break egg's into them one by one and beat well.
6. Add Vanilla essence to the bowl and beat well.
7. Now add sifted flours little by little and mix with a wooden spoon. add little milk and give a mix with the wooden spoon.
8. Add chopped walnuts and give a soft mix. and drop a spoon full of mix onto the lined muffin pans.
9. Bake the Cupcakes for 15-18 minutes at 190C. or till a toothpick inserted into the centre of the cupcake comes out clean.
10. After Baking, cool the cupcakes for atleast 10 minutes.
11. I frosted the cupcake with Nutella. It was yummy, though the frosting patterns was difficult for me.
12. The Cupcakes was great in taste. the sweetness was just correct. If you are planning for frosting, go ahead with the same sugar amount mentioned in the recipe. if not using frosting, increase the sugar amount by 1/4 cup.

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Eggless Chocolate Muffins

Wet Ingredients:

• Cold Water - 1 and half cup
• White Vinegar - 1 and half tbsp's
• Brown Sugar (or) Sugar - 1 cup
• Olive Oil (or) Canola Oil - 6 tbsp's

Mix the above Wet ingredients in a bowl together. Let the Sugar Dissolve well.

Dry Ingredients:

• All Purpose Flour / Maida - 1 and half cup
• Cocoa Powder - 1/4 cup
• Baking Soda - 1/2 tsp
• Salt - a small pinch

Method:

1. Sift the flour and cocoa powder along with the salt and baking soda for atleast 3 times,
2. So that no lumps of cocoa powder / all purpose flour are there and also the baking soda is mixed well with the flour.
3. Mix the Dry Ingredients along with the wet ingredients and stir slowly. make sure no lumps are formed in the mix.
4. Pre-Heat the Oven to 180c and line the Muffin tray with Muffin Liners.
5. Pour the mix on to the Muffin tray and bake it for 25 mins exactly. Check whether muffins are baked, by insering a toothpick in the centre of a muffins, it should come out clean, else bake for another 5 mins.
6. Remove the Muffins from the tray and cool them on wire wrack. Let them cool down for 10 minutes.
7. Put the Muffins in Refrigerator for about 2 hrs and serve chilled.

To make Icing:

1. Mix the Icing sugar (5 tbsp's) with warm water (1 tbsp) and beat well. spread the icing over the muffins and serve.

Notes:

1. Lemon Juice can be used instead of White Vinegar.
2. Brown sugar works perfect than Plain Sugar.
3. I feel cooling the muffins makes it taste better.
4. Well, now iam heading to my fridge to pick one muffin.

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Cranberry Scones

Scones are very easier ones to try. Scones are always loved at Home. It was easy to make and it tasted Great!! I referred Soma's Cranberry and Almond Scones andJoy of Baking to prepare these Delicious Scones.

Ingredients:

• All Purpose Flour - 1 and half cup
• Dried Cranberry - 1/4 cup
• Chilled Butter - 6 tbsp's
• Sugar - 1/2 cup
• Baking Powder - 1 tsp
• Milk - 1/4 cup
• Egg - 1

Method:

1. Pre-Heat the oven to 200C.
2. Chop the dried Cranberries and set aside. Beat the Egg with 1/4 tsp of water and keep aside.
3. In a Big Bowl, add the Flour,Sugar, Baking Powder and mix well. To this add Chilled Butter and mix with your hands, the final mix should be like Bread Crumbs.
4. Now add Dried Cranberries and mix. Add Milk little by little, to gather the dough together. slowly knead the dough and roll the dough for 1/2 inch thickness, with rolling pin.
5. With the help of Cookie cutter, shape them. place them on greased baking tray with gap inbetween to let the scones expand while baking.
6. Give an Egg Wash over the scones just before baking.
7. Bake the Scones at 200c for about 15 minutes till the bottom of the scones gets golden colour.
8. Once Baked, let the Scones Cool down in wire wrack for about 10 minutes and Serve.

Notes:

1. You can avoid egg wash and brush just with Milk.
2. I made the scones thinner, you can make them thick and serve with Jam.
3. I Grilled the scones for about 2 minutes, to make the scones crisper outside.

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