blueberry scones with lemon glaze and cookbook winner

Thank you to everyone for understanding my absence lately. The last 2 weeks have been a whirlwind of celebrations and wedding plans. I was happy to offer a cookbook giveaway to all of you lovelies. I numbered your comments and used random.org to determine a winner.

Comment #7 is Nicole from Heat Oven to 350! Yay, Nicole! I like you so much. Please email me (jennalaughs@gmail.com) and let me know where to ship your new cookbook.

We now return to our regularly scheduled program.

My mother and I made these blueberry scones with lemon glaze this past weekend for a special treat.

Honestly, they taste like biscuits. Sweet, buttery biscuits bursting with fresh blueberries. Heavenly.

Start with your dry ingredients in a large bowl.

Cut the butter into the dough using whatever tool your little heart desires... your hands, a fork, potato masher (not really). You want the dough to resemble coarse crumbs.

Next comes wet ingredients in the form of creamy half and half. Yes, please.

Dump it out onto a floured surface and shape it into a wide rectangle.  Throw fresh blueberries onto one side of the dough, then fold the other side over top of the blueberries. Then cut it into smaller rectangles. It should make about 7-8 scones.

Never enough. I could eat that whole pan.

While the scones are baking away, make the lemon glaze. Dunk your finger in and taste. I mean, you have to test for flavor. It's necessary.

Lemon glaze, meet warm scone. Meet my belly.

They are light and fluffy with the lovely taste of fresh fruit.

Enjoy! Love to you all.

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Blueberry Scones with Lemon Glaze

Print this recipe

2 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold, cut in cubes
1 cup half and half, plus more for brushing scones
1 cup fresh blueberries

Lemon Glaze:
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 cups confectioner's sugar
Zest of one lemon
1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Sift together the dry ingredients; the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Using a fork or your hands, cut in the butter to coat the pieces with the flour. The mixture should look like coarse crumbs. Make a well in the center and pour in the half and half. Fold everything together just to incorporate; do not overwork the dough.

Press the dough out on a lightly floured surface into a rectangle about 12 inches wide and 1/2 inch thick. Place the blueberries on one side of the dough, and fold the other side over to cover the blueberries. Make cuts every 3 inches down the dough to make 8 rectangular scones. Place the scones on a cookie sheet and brush the tops with a little half and half. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until beautiful and brown. Let the scones cool a bit before you apply the glaze.

To make the lemon glaze: melt butter in the microwave. Mix the lemon juice and confectioners' sugar together. Stir until the sugar dissolves. Add the lemon zest and melted butter. Whisk the glaze to smooth out any lumps, then drizzle the glaze over the top of the scones. Let it set a minute before serving.

Serves: 8 scones

Recipe adapted from: Tyler Florence (foodnetwork.com)

chocolate chip buttermilk scones

After eating only one chocolate croissant this weekend, I knew I needed more chocolate pastry goodness. I was so proud of my self control in that moment at the bakery, so I decided to reward myself by making these chocolate chip buttermilk scones.

Makes perfect sense, right?

I have already shared my love for scones. I am a tea drinker all the way. Tea and scones... doesn't get more perfect than that.

These scones are so light, flaky and delicious. They are not too sweet with just the right amount of chocolate. Scone perfection.

It's a simple dough to make. Mix all the dry ingredients together, cut in cold butter, then add an egg and buttermilk and you've got dough, people.

At this point, you could add any flavorings you want. You have total creative freedom. Feels good, doesn't it? You could make bacon scones if you wanted. But I love dark chocolate chips for this, and for pretty much anything really. The only thing that would make these scones better is more chocolate chips.

I hope you try them!

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Chocolate Chip Buttermilk Scones

print this recipe

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter
1 large egg yolk
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons cold buttermilk
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips, I used 60%

Place rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat to 425 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

In a mixing bowl, sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Cut butter into small pieces, and cut into the dry ingredients until mixture resembles coarse meal. I used my fingers to rub the butter and dry ingredients together. In another bowl, combine egg yolk and buttermilk and beat lightly with a fork. Add to flour mixture all at once, stirring enough to make a soft dough. Fold in the chocolate chips.

Turn out onto a floured board and knead about 15 times. Roll or pat out into a 1-inch thickness. Cut into 4 or 5 circles with a biscuit cutter or the top of a drinking glass. Place on prepared baking sheet and bake at 425 degrees F for 10 - 12 minutes. These are best when served immediately.

Recipe Adapted From: Joy the Baker

perfect cup of starbucks

Venti 6-Pump Soy No-Water Chai.

This no-water secret was told to me by one of my best friends, Sarah. They try to throw some hot water in the tea latte drinks, even though you pay $.40 extra for soy. You're not depriving me of my soy milk, Starbucks.

I loved living in the city where there was a Starbucks on every corner. There were 2 just on my block! It wasn't the best for my bank account... but it gave me time to find out the best recipe for my favorite drink.

This is my favorite. It's warm, creamy, spicy with cinnamon and so delicious. I enjoy it so much this time of year, when the weather is chilly. There's nothing like a hot drink to keep your hands warm.

What's your perfect cup?

green tea pound cake

I saw a recipe for Lemon and Green Tea Marble Pound Cake on one of my favorite food blogs, Joy the Baker. I decided I needed to make it. I love the green swirl running through it ... it's so unorthodox and awesome.


I used to buy Green Tea Matcha at Whole Foods in the city. There are no Whole Foods in Delaware. None. Isn't that upsetting? I also have to drive 25 minutes to get to the closest Starbucks. When I lived in the city, there were 2 on my block. Ugh! Oh well, moving on...


I found some on my most recent trip to the city. Michael and I were leisurely strolling down Lexington Avenue when we found a little shop called Tea and Honey. We both love tea, so we wandered inside. I also love collecting teapots, it took all my self control not to buy one there. But I did get this pretty can of green tea!

Matcha is a beautiful, rich powder. It's finely-milled green tea. Wikipedia says it can take up to an hour to grind 30 grams of this stuff. It has a sweet flavor and is loaded with antioxidants. I love it dissolved in hot milk to make a delicious tea drink. Michael thinks it tastes like "pond scum" ...


I printed out the recipe and started mixing all the ingredients. There is something so relaxing and fun about making a cake from scratch. I love sifting flour, beating eggs into sugar, and zesting lemons. When I made this, the whole kitchen smelled the fresh, clean scent of lemons. And the green tea batter was ridiculous.


To create the marble effect, you have to layer the different batters, starting and ending with lemon batter. Then use a butter knife to lightly swirl them together.



The cake has 6 eggs, so it's very dense and rich. But so yummy! If you're feeling adventurous, make this cake!!

To get the recipe, click here. Props to Joy for this awesome pound cake. Everyone loved it!

chai tea mix

I am a tea person. I fight with my sister about it because she is a coffee person. I argue that the royalty of England are avid tea drinkers. I am totally obsessed with chai tea. I have a big mug of hot chai with vanilla soy milk every single morning. I get up, make my bed, make my tea, then sit down at my computer to listen to a sermon online or sit in my big comfy chair to read a book. Every morning. I am such a creature of habit.

Anyway, so I buy a lot of chai. A can of chai is not cheap. A grande soy no water chai with an extra pump is $5.90 at Starbucks. I spend a lot of money on this addiction of mine!

So I googled "chai tea mix recipes" and found one on allrecipes.com that my friend Lauren's sister said was excellent. It has a lot of ingredients:


I like my chai not to be too sweet, have lots of spice to it and a strong black tea flavor. So I took the allrecipes.com recipe and put my own twist on it. The end result is awesome, especially if you mix it with all milk and no water. After you combine all the ingredients together, you have to grind small batches in a food processor to get a fine powder that dissolves easily in your drink. I put my batch in a plastic container with a label.


Here's the recipe:

Chai Tea Mix

1 cup nonfat dry milk powder
1 cup powdered non-dairy creamer
1 cup french vanilla flavored non-dairy creamer
2 cups white sugar
2 cups unsweetened instant tea
2 teaspoons ground ginger
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground allspice

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients. In a blender or food processor, blend 1 cup at a time until it becomes a fine powder. To serve, mix 3 or 4 tablespoons in a hot cup of milk. Or make delicious frappuccinos by blending 1 cup of ice, 1 cup of soy milk, and 3 tablespoons of chai mix in a blender until combined and ice is crushed.