This biscotti and tea are perfectly fine on their own. The biscotti has a soft lemon flavor with a touch of floral from the lavender, and a perfect crunch from the pistachios. And the tea is slightly sweet and fruity. But pair them together and dip the biscotti in the tea, and it is just delightful! (Seriously... “Wow! That’s delightful!” is what came out of my mouth after I took my first bite.) LAVENDER LEMON & PISTACHIO BISCOTTI Makes about 11-12 biscotti INGREDIENTS: Biscotti: 1/2 cup butter, melted 3/4 cup sugar 2 tsp. dried lavender 2 tbsp. lemon zest 2 eggs 2 cups all-purpose flour 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder 1/2 tsp. salt 1/2 cup pistachios, roughly chopped Lemon Drizzle: 1 cup powdered sugar 1 tbsp. lemon juice 1-3 tsp. milk Dried lavender, to garnish INSTRUCTIONS: Preheat oven to 350° F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Using a stand mixer with a paddle attachment or large bowl, mix together the butter, sugar, lavender, lemon zest, and eggs for 2 minutes until light and fluffy. Add the flour, baking powder, and salt and mix until well combined, then mix in the pistachios. Scoop the dough out onto the prepared baking sheet. The dough will be very soft and sticky. Shape the dough into a long rectangle about 5 inches wide by 12 inches long and about 1 inch thick. Bake at 350° F for about 25-30 minutes, until golden around the edges. Remove from oven and cool for 10-15 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 300° F. Carefully transfer the biscotti to a cutting board. Using a sharp serrated knife, slice the biscotti into 1 inch sections. Place each section on its side on the parchment paper lined baking sheet. Bake the biscotti at 300° F for 20-25 minutes, or until the centers are dry and not soft, and the edges are golden brown. Remove from oven and allow the biscotti to cool completely on a wire rack. Mix together the ingredients for the lemon drizzle. If the mixture is too thick, add more milk 1/2 tsp. at a time. If it’s too runny, add more powdered sugar 1-2 tbsp. at a time. Drizzle the mixture evenly over the biscotti, then sprinkle with dried lavender. BLUEBERRY LAVENDER MILK TEA Makes 2 servings INGREDIENTS:
1 cup whole milk 1/4 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen 1 tsp. dried lavender 2 tbsp. honey 2 black tea bags Dried lavender, to garnish INSTRUCTIONS: In a small saucepan, add the milk, blueberries, and lavender and warm over medium heat until it is hot and starts to steam. Do not let it boil. Remove from heat, cover and allow to steep for 10-15 minutes. Bring water to a boil in a tea kettle. Pour the water into two mugs, each with 1 tea bag, filling the mugs about 1/2 to 2/3 full with water. Allow the tea to steep for 5-7 minutes, then remove the tea bags. Meanwhile, add the honey to the milk mixture. Using a blender, blend the milk mixture until smooth and frothy. Pour the milk through a fine mesh strainer into the mugs. Top with a spoonful of the frothed milk and a sprinkle of lavender to garnish. Note: This tea would be excellent served cold over ice as well!
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I always thought scones were these dry, hard, bland breakfast pastries that were always served with coffee or tea because they were so dry and hard. Like you were supposed to dip them in your coffee or tea, sort of similar to biscotti. I’ve never made scones, and I can only remember trying them a couple times, which was years ago. Well, come to find out, the world of scones is quite vast, and in the U.S., a scone is basically just a biscuit, only a little heavier and slightly sweeter! Whaaaat??? I LOVE biscuits! I also know how dry and rock hard biscuits can become if they’re overmixed or been setting out too long, so it’s no wonder why my perception of scones has been screwed this whole time! So needless to say, I am super excited to discover that scones are really quite delicious and rather easy to make! It’s citrus season right now, and I’ve been feeling very inspired by citrus and herb combinations lately. This grapefruit and thyme combo is one of my favorites. Grapefruit by itself can be very bitter and tart, but when mixed with a little sugar, it has a delightful citrusy flavor that works so well with the earthiness of the thyme. These buttery scones have crisp, crumbly corners and soft flaky inside. The scones themselves are only slightly sweetened, but then topped with a drizzle of grapefruit flavored icing. You can add more or less icing depending on how sweet you’d like the scones to be. I also love salt on my fresh grapefruit, so I added some coarse salt sprinkled over these scones, which also brings out more of their savory quality. SALTED GRAPEFRUIT THYME SCONES Makes 6 scones INGREDIENTS:
Scones: 2 cups all-purpose flour 1/3 cup sugar 1 tbsp. baking powder 1/2 tsp. salt 1 tbsp. grapefruit zest 1 tbsp. fresh thyme leaves 1/2 cup cold butter, cut into cubes 1 egg 1/4 cup sour cream 1/4 cup evaporated milk* 1 tsp. grapefruit juice 2 tbsp. evaporated milk, for brushing* Coarse sea salt, for garnish Fresh thyme leaves, for garnish Icing: 1 cup powdered sugar 2-3 tsp. grapefruit juice *Heavy cream may be used in place of the evaporated milk. INSTRUCTIONS: Preheat oven to 400° F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, grapefruit zest, and thyme. Using a dough blender, a fork, or your fingers, cut in the cold butter until it’s well- blended and in about pea-sized bits. In a small bowl, mix together the egg, sour cream, evaporated milk, and grapefruit juice. Add this mixture to the flour mixture and stir a few times, just enough to moisten most of the dough. Do not mix it too much at this point or you will end up with dense, hard scones. The mixture will seem fairly crumbly. Transfer the dough to a flat work surface. (Add a little flour to the work surface if you don’t have a pastry cutter.) Shape the dough into a circle that’s about 1 inch thick. Cut the circle into 6 equal sized wedges. Using a pastry cutter or spatula, transfer the scones to the prepared baking sheet, allowing 1-2 inches between each scone. Brush the tops of the scones generously with evaporated milk. Bake the scones at 400° F for 15-17 minutes or until you see a little bit of golden brown around the edges. (Don’t bake too long or they will dry out.) While the scones are baking, in a small bowl, mix together the ingredients for the glaze. If it’s too thin, add a little more powdered sugar. If it’s too thick to drizzle, add a little more juice. If you’d like the glaze to be a little more pink, you can add a touch of pink food coloring. (For mine, I just dipped the end of a toothpick in the food coloring and then into the glaze. The tiniest bit of that color of food coloring goes a long way!) Remove the scones from the oven and allow them to cool slightly. Drizzle the scones with the glaze, then sprinkle with fresh thyme and coarse sea salt. Serve warm or at room temperature. These scones will stay fresh for a few days if stored in ziplock bags or an air tight container. These Blueberry Orange Fritters and soft and doughy inside with a crispy fried outer shell and are coated with a sweet orange glaze, perfect to pair with your morning coffee or as a sweet snack later in the day. This recipe makes approximately 2 dozen fritters. INGREDIENTS:
Fritters: 2 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 cup sugar 2 1/4 tsp. baking powder 1 1/4 tsp. salt 1 tsp. cinnamon 2 large eggs 3/4 cup whole milk 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract 1/2 tsp. almond extract 3 tbsp. butter, melted 2 tsp. orange zest 1 1/2 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen, thawed Canola oil for frying Glaze: 2 cups powdered sugar 1/4 cup fresh squeezed orange juice 1/4 cup water 1/4 tsp. almond extract 1 tbsp. orange zest, to garnish INSTRUCTIONS: In a small or medium saucepan, pour enough canola oil to be 2 inches deep. Place over medium heat for about 20 minutes. Using a frying or candy thermometer, bring the oil to a steady 350° F - 360° F. You may need to adjust your stove temperature as each stove is a little different, and this may take a bit of time to regulate to temperature of the oil. If the temp is too low, you’ll end up with grease-absorbed fritters, and if it’s too high, you could end up with a burnt outside and uncooked inside. Be patient and get the temperature just right. While the oil is heating, prep your ingredients. In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Set aside. in a separate small bowl, mix together the eggs, milk, vanilla extract, almond extract, butter, and orange zest. Set aside. Rinse the blueberries and dry them well with paper towels. If using frozen blueberries, make sure they are thawed and dried, then roll them in a couple tbsp. of flour, just enough to coat them. Set aside. In a small bowl, whisk together all the glaze ingredients and set aside. Once the oil is at a steady 350° F - 360° F, add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, and stir just until moistened, then gently fold in the blueberries. Have a wire cooling rack close by with a pan or sheet of foil underneath. Drop the batter into the oil by heaping spoonful. Work in batches and only fry about 3-4 spoonfuls at a time. Dry each fritter for around 3-4 minutes, flipping once or twice until it is a deep golden brown on all sides. Using a slotted spoon, carefully transfer the fritters to the cooling rack, then start your next batch. Break one of the fritters open to check for doneness, so you know how long to fry the others. Allow the fritters to cool slightly, then spoon a little of the gaze over each fritter and sprinkle with orange zest. Serve warm or at room temperature. |