sunday brunch and oatmeal raisin scones

Out of the hundred or so cookbooks I purchased this summer [okay, maybe just 11], I'd have to say one of my favorites is Anthony Bourdain's Les Halles. I mean, I'm already madly in love with Tony's dry, sardonic wit, and to see that so eloquently translated in a cookbook was a match made in heaven. It's not one that I've actually used for recipes yet [I'm not exactly a connoisseur of bistro-style cooking, let alone have hours upon hours to make my own demi-glace], but it's one that I enjoy reading as though it were a novel.

Which, you may know by now, is a quality I think is essential in a good cookbook. Not just recipes, but vignettes. Not just photographs, but memories of places and emotions felt there. Not just cooking tips, but life advice.

And in Les Halles, Tony is brilliant.

[I promise I'm not going to spend this post just propagandizing this book.]

Anyway, the point is, one of my favorite things Tony says is that his book is not going to teach you how to cook.

Well, then, what's the point of buying a cookbook, right?

Well, "to teach you how to love food."

...Or at least, something to that effect, with a little less fluff and a little more cursing thrown in. So I've been trying to look at recipes as more guidelines than actual rules, giving me an idea of proper ratios for flours and baking powders, spices and vegetable stocks, and kind of letting my mind run wild with ideas. Yesterday when Tommy popped by to help with the basbousa, we decided to do some baking for today's Sunday brunch, and settled on one of my favorite treats in the entire world.

Although, crepes filled with butter and sliced strawberries and topped with powdered sugar are a damn-close second.

Scones, of course. Oatmeal-raisin scones, this time. The base recipe comes from Breakfast, Lunch, Tea, but has been adjusted to suit my own tastes. The end result was something hearty, not-too-sweet, with a consistency in between that of a scone and a biscuit. Perfect with a slather of butter and a drizzle of honey. And of course, some good company.

Oatmeal-Raisin Scones
Original recipe
Recipe yields 10-12 scones, depending on the size

You'll need:

• 3 cups of flour
• 1 cup of oats
• 2 heaping tablespoons of baking powder
• 2 tbsps sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 stick of butter, cold and cut into cubes
• 1 1/4 cups of heavy cream
• 2 tsps vanilla
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1/2 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  In a large bowl, combine flour, oats, baking powder, sugar, and salt until well-mixed. Cut in butter until incorporated [you can use your hands here]. In a separate bowl, combine cream, vanilla, and lemon juice. Make a well in the middle of the dough and pour in the about two-thirds of the cream mixture. Using your hands, mix the flour and cream mixture until the batter comes together. It shouldn't be sticky; if too wet, add more flour; if too dry, add more liquid [you may not use all the liquid, which is fine]. Finally, add in raisins and give a quick mix with your hands.

Form discs of dough and spread them out across the baking sheet. Bake for 15-20 minutes until the tops of the scones are light golden-brown. Let cool at 10-15 minutes before serving. Scones are best served warm, but can be kept airtight at room temperature for up to a day. Serve with butter, jam, honey, or clotted cream, as they are not very sweet.

I'd have to say, scones are the best way to start a day. Particularly when paired with amazing crepes, made perfectly by Noosh, and scrambled eggs with onions, tomatoes, and feta, courtesy of Tommy. I'm thinking this needs to become routine...

What can I say? My friends know how to eat.

Great minds and all that.

pumpkin scones with brown sugar glaze

So, remember when I talked about going to Alice's Tea Cup when I went to New York to visit Nimra? Probably not. But anyway, since I am far too obsessed with baking for my own good, I immediately had to buy the cookbook they just released on the 25th of October. It came in the mail on Thursday, signed [picture me grinning from ear to ear like a fangirl when I saw how two pastry chefs signed my cookbook. yeah, that pathetic], and I was almost late to class because I was skimming through it and admiring all of the colorful photos.

I brought it with me when I came home for the weekend, and decided that I had to try baking some of their famous pumpkin scones with brown sugar glaze. It was, fittingly, the first [and currently, only] thing I ate there when I went with Nimra, and it was divine. Ergo, I ran to the grocery store yesterday to pick up some canned pumpkin and buttermilk, much to mom's dismay, and as soon as I woke up this morning got to work baking.

Pumpkin Scones with Brown Sugar Glaze

For the scones, you'll need:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/8 cup cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp ground ginger
• 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter
• 1 1/4 cups buttermilk
• 1 cup canned pumpkin [NOT pumpkin pie filling]
• 1 tsp vanilla 

For the glaze, you'll need:

• 2 sticks unsalted butter
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup heavy cream

Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit and grease and flour a large baking sheet. 

In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, cinnamon, and ginger, and mix at low speed with paddle attachment until well combined. Add in butter, increase speed to medium, and beat until dough has the consistency of breadcrumbs. Using your hands, make a well in the center of the dough. Pour pumpkin, vanilla, and buttermilk into the well. With your hands, mix until dough is wet. It will also be quite sticky.

Roll dough out onto a floured surface and pat down with your hands until it is about 1 1/2-inches thick. Using a 3.5-inch pastry cutter, cut out scones and distribute them evenly on the baking sheet. Bake for 12-15 minutes until golden brown and springy to the touch. Let cool for at least 20 minutes before dipping in the glaze.

To prepare the glaze, put butter, sugar, lemon, and salt in a medium-sized saucepan over medium-high heat. Whisk as butter melts and sugar dissolves to make sure the syrup is uniform. When the syrup comes to a boil, slowly pour in the heavy cream. Lower heat and continue whisking for 2-3 minutes until glaze starts to thicken. It should coat the back of a spoon. Remove from heat and let stand for 5 minutes. If serving immediately, dip the top of the scones into the warm glaze. If not, do not dip the scones; pour glaze into a container and only drizzle or dip the scones in the glaze when ready to serve.

Mom had absolutely no faith in my scone-making ability. She watched me make the dough and told me to just give up and start over, because the dough was 'too sticky' for them to turn out well. Seriously, it was just chastisement after chastisement. Even when they were in the oven, she told me to go check on the 'impending failures.' Though, I have to admit, even I was worried; I wasn't sure how they were going to turn out because the dough did seem much wetter and stickier than I had anticipated.

Still, I persevered, and it was well-worth the uncertainty, because they turned out perfect. 

In fact, Yusra couldn't contain herself and ate two. I myself ate one and a half, they were so irresistible. Even mom had to admit, they were delicious, and I noticed she kept going back to the kitchen to nibble. [HA, mom].

 

Now Yusra wants me to make them on Thanksgiving. Maybe I will, as a sort of pregame for the main event. Which I'm still told is going to be my responsibility.

Oh, the pressure.