Wednesday, February 9, 2011

It's all about love baby



Friends, don't let the picture deceive you. I haven't fallen off the wagon. You see, I'm a big scone lover, and just about once a week(usually on the weekend) I head to the closest coffee shop(Starbucks) and pick me up a scone that happens to fancy me that day. Blueberry crumble, vanilla bean, cranberry bliss, you get my point. Somehow I think if I eat really good and exercise all week, I then deserve a treat for all the hard work I do.  But I had yet to find one that pleased the waist line and didn't taste like cardboard. I also had yet to find one shaped like hearts and have the sweet fresh scent of lemon wafting up your nose with each bite.


Now I'm not usually a big valentine kind of gal. In fact, I can't remember the last time my hubbers and I had a date on this candy coated holiday. Heck, I can't remember the last time we had a date. 


My "almost" point is, I like scrolling down the two isles they designate to holiday goodies. I don't usually walk away with much and I'm not big on buying valentine presents, but I do like the inspiration. I took notice to all the fancy heart shaped waffle and muffin makers, heart shaped candy holders and heart shaped stuffed animals, and thought to myself, I could make something just as good with what I have. 


This is my point.


I found a scone base recipe a couple years ago on Joy of baking but I found with my own touches, I can create some pretty fun scones adding my own flavors to each batch. This particular one seems most perfect for this sweet time of year when everything and anything screams pink, red, hearts. With the add of whole wheat flour for texture and nutrition, and low fat buttermilk for tang and richness, these scones wont feel fatless, nor do they taste like cardboard.


Lemon poppy seed scone






The process


Put all dry ingredients in food processor 


Add cold cubed butter


Pulse until crumbly 


Pour in buttermilk and vanilla extract 


Cut out heart shapes




Brush each scone with milk


Bake and drizzle one time.......


Final drizzle










Heart shaped lemon poppy seed scones
(makes 9 scones)


Ingredients



1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 cup all-purpose white flour
1/4 cup organic sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
3 Tb organic milled flaxseed
1 Tb poppy seeds
1 lemon zested
7 Tb organic unsalted butter, cut in small pieces 
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
2/3-3/4 low fat buttermilk
1/4 cup nonfat milk


Glaze

1/2 lemon zested
1 lemon juiced(about 1/4 cup)
1 1/4 cup powdered sugar, divided
2 drops red food coloring

Directions

Preheat oven 400

Place the first nine ingredients in food processor.(If you don't have a processor, just put it all in a mixing bowl and whisk the ingredients to combine) Add cold cubed butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse texture, or use pastry blender. Pour in buttermilk and vanilla extract and pulse until dough just comes together. If dough is still to crumbly add a little more buttermilk.

Turn dough out on floured surface and kneed 4-5 times and form into ball. Flatten dough into a 7in disk; about a 1/2 inch thick.(I just use my hand to press it out) Use a smaller size heart shape cookie cutter and press down to form shapes. You should get about 4 hearts out of the first disk. Repeat with the extra dough, leaving out the kneading part of coarse. You should get about 9 heart shaped scones out of the entire batch.

Place scones on large baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray and brush each scone with milk. Bake for 15 minutes or until lightly golden. Remove from oven and let cool on cooling rack.

For the glaze: In small bowl place zested lemon and lemon juice, along with 3/4 cup powdered sugar. Mix until smooth and add food coloring. Drizzle the glaze over the warm scones. Let cool 10 minutes. Add the rest of the powdered sugar to lemon glaze(1/2 cup) and drizzle another layer over scones.

Note: You don't have to do two layers of glaze, but it makes that two tone pretty pink color.




I heart you.



21 comments:

  1. These are so cute! I was swooning at a heart shaped pancake maker the other day but then realized that I would only use it a few times a year and could get the same effect with metal cookie cutters. Who would a thunk it right?

    I like the way you improvised and got something personalized, pretty, and yummy!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Adorable!!! I love V-Day and pink :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. My favorite scones...and I love the glaze!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I'm the same way, I usually don't get too caught up in the Valentine's spirit... but these are just adorable! I love the lemon & poppy seed variation.

    ReplyDelete
  5. This is beautiful Ang and so cute! It looks easy once you made them!

    ReplyDelete
  6. What a cute idea! These scones look delicious and perfect for Valentine's Day!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I also love scones! My favorite one from starbucks is the maple oat scone. I haven't gotten one in a really long time though, because it contains my calorie budget for a whole year. Do they even still have them?
    These lemon poppy seed scones look amazing. That lemon and poppy seed.. they go so well together!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Oh I loooovvvvve lemon poppy seed. You made it so healthy and they look fantabulous. I love the icing on top - perfect!!
    Brandie

    ReplyDelete
  9. I love these heart shaped scones, and the lemon poppy seed looks so yummy!

    ReplyDelete
  10. These sound delish! I love the heart shape and pink glaze.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Scones are one of lifes true comfort foods-they need a fresh pot of tea, homemade jam and cream-especially if you've been healthy all week long!

    ReplyDelete
  12. For a healthier version of scones, these sure look terrific!!! So moist and wonderful...such a perfect Valentine's Day treat!!!

    ReplyDelete
  13. I love lemon poppy seed scones and yours look sooo good. I just adore how they're heart shaped and the pink glaze is the perfect addition. :)

    ReplyDelete
  14. These sound awesome and I love the pink glaze. I don't do big celebrations for V-Day either but it's fun to make heart shaped desserts anyway. A healthy-ish dessert is even better!

    ReplyDelete
  15. These scones look absolutely beautiful! Love the flavour combo as well!!

    ReplyDelete
  16. I heart you too! These have to be the sweetest scones I've seen. Thank you for sharing another great recipe with me. You never let me down! I hope you have a weekend of love and relaxation. We all need it, I think!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Perfect for valentines. I love scones. Hope you and your family have a wonderful Valentines day. Love the glaze on top.
    -Gina-

    ReplyDelete
  18. Sooooooo adorable! My hubby will love these.

    ReplyDelete
  19. How sweet! I love lemon and poppyseed - and I REALLY love scones! Great job!

    ReplyDelete