Gluten Free Cream Scones-Perfected!

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(Updated 8/2015)

It occurred to me from looking at my last post, I have never actually shared with you my perfected scones! (palm to forehead!)

My sincerest apologies! They are just so good, it’s a crime not to share. So here you are, my Famous Cream Scones. (well, they are famous in my circle of friends!)

Note #1. I used Pamela’s Artisan Flour in my original version. Since 2013, when I posted this, I have substituted 1/2 the flour mix for almond flour. It produces a much more tender, and yes delicate, scone but the flavor is divine. When I started out baking GF, Pamelas was the best version of flour I could find. Since then, I’ve branched out and become much more adventuresome. With this recipe, just try to find some blend that isn’t too gritty. (If you are GF, you know what I mean)

Note #2. You MUST use the right technique with the butter. You do NOT cut the butter in with this recipe. You ‘flake’ it in. First, cut your butter in to cubes, be sure it is COLD. If you have hot hands, run under cold water to cool. Add the butter cubes to the flour mixture and using your thumbs and first two fingers ‘smear’ it though you’re fingers creating ‘flakes’ of butter. If your kitchen is hot (summertime is not the best time to make these) freeze your flour first and work very quickly, re-chilling the flour/butter mixture before adding the liquid if needed. By creating these little flakes of butter, you achieve a similar effect that it does in puffed pastry. That will yield a tender and moist, yet light and flaky scone. *2015 note: Gluten Free is much more forgiving than wheat flour. The chilling precautions are essential to a good wheat flour scone. For gluten free, just be sure you are creating flakes of butter, not mushy, gooey wads. Chill it again if you need to, to achieve this goal.

Note #3. You can change the flavor of these any way you wish. At the end I give you some of my favorite combinations of add-ins.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line baking sheet pans with a Silpat or Parchment paper. (I prefer a silpat style mat)

2 cups Pamelas Artisan Flour
3 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp salt (sea salt preferably)
7 tbsp (or about 6oz) Unsalted Butter (use best quality you can find)
3/4-1 cup Heavy Cream (extra for brushing the tops)
**add in’s of your choice
Turbinado or Demerara Sugar for topping the scones

Mix dry ingredients in a bowl. Using the technique described in note #2, flake in the butter. Using a fork, add the cream and gently fluff and toss the mess until it comes together. Depending upon the dryness of the flour, you may need the whole cup of cream. My trick is to add close to 1 cup, toss it with a fork, and if it doesn’t all come together, drizzle a bit more cream. Keep the mixing to a minimum. You want to retain the integrity of those butter flakes.

Take the whole bowl, along with any bits, and upend it on a clean, smooth surface. (I prefer marble or granite which you can pre-chill in hot weather by laying a bag of ice on top) Gently knead once or twice to incorporate all the bits and pat out. DO NOT OVERWORK. Yes, this is gluten free flour, so no danger of creating toughness, but you can melt the butter-a big no no! The dough should be moist enough to hold together, but not soggy. Pat the wad out into a disc, about 8 inches across. (bigger circle = thinner scones = shorter cooking time) Smear a little cream on the top and sprinkle with course Demerara or Turbinado sugar. Cut in to wedges with a sharp knife. For big traditional scones, cut in to 8. For smaller ‘tea sized’ scones, cut in to 12. A sharp knife works best, but a bench scraper also works if you are worried about dulling your knives on the marble. Carefully loosen from the marble, using your knife laid flat, and gently place on lined baking sheet and bake approx 10-15 minutes. If sliced into 12, check them at 8 minutes. The outside will look browned, and when you gently press the tops, they will give a little, but not be gooey. It will depend upon your oven and how big you cut them. If you are unsure, take one out and break it open. It will look moist, not gooey or raw, but cooked. Do not over bake!

**Add-Ins:

(These are my favorite combinations of add-ins and how I add them)

1/2cup dried blueberries (yes dried. fresh just smoosh, ooze, and have too much moisture) added to the flour/butter mix + 1/4 tsp lemon oil and/or 1 tsp lemon zest added to the cream

1/2 cup chopped dried cherries + 1/2 cup high quality bittersweet chocolate chunks added to the dry mix

1/2 cup dried apricots + 1 tsp cardamon added to dry mix; 1/4-1/2 tsp almond extract added to cream

1 cup fresh raspberries (very gently added to dry ingredients. be very VERY gentle when mixing and patting out. Yes, they will get smooshed, but the taste will be fantastic. Also, these take a bit more time to bake due to the extra moisture) + 1/2 cup white chocolate chip + 1/2cup macadamia nuts

These seriously are good enough to serve to a queen. Or family. Or picky relatives.
When my friends are sick, this is what they request I bring.
They really are THAT good.

When Life Gives You….Tart Cherries!

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My friend, who is also my landscaper (I’m giving a shout out to MeadowLark Landscaping) was instrumental in helping this novice mid-western gardener, who grew up in the lush zone 8 of the Pacific Northwest, transform this barren wasteland of a yard in to a paradise of privacy and beauty. My mandate, when she first started helping me pick out plants, was plant nothing that shed something which nature did not naturally consume or compost. Until a couple of years ago, other than my summer annual produce, it never occurred to me to have a tree or bush that produced something HUMANS would consume! She suggested a dwarf cherry.

“Too big,” I said. “I’m short, I’m not getting on a ladder to pick fruit.”

No, she convinced me, a dwarf cherry would be lovely on the corner of my house to create some privacy for the front door and as an added benefit I would have tart cherries to cook with.

Well, how can one turn that offer down?

So this is my little dwarf cherry tree. Cute, isn’t it?

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At it’s tippy top, I do have to reach up and pull the branches down for me to reach, but this is about as big as it will get. However, as it ages, it will become more productive.
[2015 update: I picked nearly 20 pounds this year. Tart Cherry Jelly will be canned soon!]

While cleaning out our garage for the up and coming graduation party, I noticed many of the berries were ripe. Having competed with (and lost) the ‘first dibs’ battle with robins before, I grabbed a tray and started picking. In the photo above, you can see there are still a lot left on the tree for a future use. Here is the fruit of my easy labor:

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For the remaining on the tree, after they have ripened, I’m thinking pickled cherries inspired from a blog I read by GlutenFree Girl and the Chef. She posted the link to the recipe by Matthew Amster-Burton on Gourmet, so when these babies ripen they are destined for pickling!

After a long hard day working in the garage and yard weeding, a sweet cherry treat is exactly what I was drooling for. Scanning the web for ideas, all but one seemed too time consuming and lengthy, dirtying too many dishes. Yes, I wanted dessert, no I didn’t want the mess after ‘cleaning’ all day. And since it was pushing 5pm, it had to be fast and easy. Reading endless critiques about tart cherry pies and that awful canned pie filling, it dawned on me….fresh cherry pie filling is not so different than macerated strawberries. What if i substituted fresh cherry filling for strawberries over a ‘shortcake’? YES! And what better to go with cherries than chocolate?

Normally I would make my famous cream scones, but I was looking for quick, easy and as little dish mess as possible. Pamela’s Pancake and Baking mix to the rescue. Since I happened to have a scone pan form (I bought it before I found Pamela’s Artisan Flour and perfected my traditional scones) it was easy to modify her simple recipe by adding chunks of chocolate, plop the blobs in and bake, turning them out to cool!  In minutes, with only a couple of dishes to do, I had dessert, fresh from my garden. Voila! A beautiful sight to behold!

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Easy Tart Cherry ‘Filling’

Approximately 2 generous cups of pitted tart cherries (be sure to pit over a bowl to catch the juices)

1/2 cup sugar

Juice of half an orange plus it’s zest

1 star anise (optional)

4 tsp GF Arrowroot starch

1/2 cup water-if needed. My cherries were extremely juicy.

Place in a 3-4 quart pan over a low heat and bring cherries to just under a boil, DO NOT BOIL. Make a slurry with the arrowroot (mix with a tablespoon of water to create an emulsion) and add to the cherries. Stir until combined, turning heat off. It should thicken quickly. (Do not boil, as this will weaken the arrowroot starch) Cool, refrigerate until needed, but you can serve it warm over ice cream too! NUM!)

Southwestern Black Bean and Corn “Salad”

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Grab your cowboy boots and hat, and sidle up to this nummy salad! Trust me, you’ll be looking for a steel guitar and pining for the smell of horses and leather to accompany this scrumptious and versatile salad.

I put ‘salad’ in quotation marks because leftovers are absolutely delicious over the top of grilled french bread -‘Hello Paris!’ , as a ‘Bruschetta’ topping – or is it ‘Ciao Italy’?, or as a chunky dip with sturdy tortilla chips -‘Hola Mexico!’. I’ve served this in organic romaine lettuce or butter lettuce leaves, which is like a vegetarian version of a the Asian lettuce wrap, and it would be a nice punch of flavor in a breakfast tortilla wrap with scrambled eggs. It is so versatile for leftovers, but so delicious, you may not have any ‘left over’!!!

(As always, my recipes are fluid and something you adjust to taste. I will give approximate amounts, but adjust to your own taste. You can double this recipe, but it will make a generous amount for a large group!)

((Try to let the salad rest at least an hour to absorb all the great flavors from the dressing.))

Southwestern Black Bean & Corn Salad

1 can (approx 2 cup if you make your own) Black Beans, rinsed.

2 cups corn. I used leftover corn cut from the cob, from a previous nights dinner, but you can use defrosted frozen.

Cilantro: A nice big handful, chopped. We love cilantro, so add a bit more, and I will add some fresh to leftovers.

Avocado: I slice this over the top of the salad. You can rough chop it and toss in to what you are going to eat, but it gets mushy if kept too long. Better to add it fresh to the portion you are eating.

Dressing: (For 1 cup of dressing which is more than enough to dress the salad.)

1/3 Grapeseed Oil (you can use corn, I don’t because of the GMO’s)
1/3 cup Lime Juice
Approx 2-3 tbsp red or white wine vinegar
1 tsp Cumin
1-2 tsp Ancho Chili Powder (you can use reg chili powder, I prefer the pure chili, but if you don’t have on hand, use high quality chili powder)
1 clove Garlic, minced or put through a press
1/2 tsp Oregano
1/4 cup diced Red Onion
pinch of Sugar
1/2 tsp dijon or stone ground Mustard
salt and pepper
Optional: Smoked Paprika or Chipotle Chili Powder

Whisk all the dressing ingredients together and adjust spices to taste. (It might need more sugar, more cumin, more garlic, ect)

Toss the beans, corn and cilantro with the dressing.

Top with fresh ripened avocados.

While I seem to have covered the globe in serving options, I will personally start with what is closest to my heart. Cowboy country flavored good eats!! Yee Haw!