Apricot Oatmeal Scones

  

When Mimi Jr. first told me how much she loved this recipe, I have to admit, I was a little skeptical, especially since the recipe called for rolled oats. When I think scones, I think light and delicate, and in my mind, oatmeal just doesn't fit into that equation. Since Mimi Jr. loved these so much, I decided to try them for myself. And I'm glad I did. They turned out with the perfect balance of delicate flaky layers and toasty oat flavor, with a texture just hearty enough to satisfy, without being dense or heavy. 

Scones are a great breakfast treat because they can be shaped and frozen, then baked straight from the freezer either for a quick, warm breakfast, or to feed a crowd with minimal effort (for these scones, just increase the baking time to 25-30 min). While we do love our traditional orange zest scones, these are quickly becoming another family favorite, and we all like to know that there is a bag of ready to bake scones in the freezer whenever the craving strikes.

Apricot Oatmeal Scones

adapted from The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook

1 1/2 cups old fashion rolled oats

1/4 cup milk

1/4 cup heavy cream (you can use 1/2 cup 1/2 & 1/2 instead of the milk and cream)

1 large egg

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/3 cup sugar, plus more for sprinkling on the top of the scones

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

10 tablespoons unsalted butter (5 ounces) cut into small dice

1/2 cup chopped dried apricots.

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Spread the oats out over a baking sheet and toast in the oven until lightly browned, about 8 minutes. Let cool. Measure out 2 tablespoons of the toasted oats for dusting the counter.

2. Increase the oven heat to 450 degree F. Whisk the milk, cream, egg, almond and vanilla extracts together in a large measuring cup. Reserve 1 tablespoon for brushing the tops of the scones.

3. Pulse the flour sugar, baking powder and salt in the food processor until combined. Scatter the butter evenly over the top and process until the mixture resembles coarse cornmeal, 12-14 pulses.

4.Transfer the flour mixture to a medium mixing bowl and stir in the cooled oats and the apricots. Fold in the milk mixture using a rubber spatula until large clumps form.  Gently knead the mixture in the bowl with your hands until the dough forms a cohesive mass.

5. Dust the counter with half of the the reserved oats. Turn the dough out onto the counter and dust the top with the remaining oats. Gently pat the dough into a 7 inch circle about 1 inch thick. Cut the dough into eight wedges and place on baking sheet lined with a slipat or parchment paper. Brush the tops with reserved milk mixture and sprinkle with sugar.

6. Bake until golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes let cool and serve.

printable recipe

Links: Foodie Friday

TWD: Fold Over Pear Torte

Fold Over Pear Torte

Cakelaw Laws of the Kitchen selected Fold-Over Pear Torte for us to bake this week. A creamy custard filling is packed with sweet, ripe pears, dried apricots, and a few nuts for crunch, then everything is folded into a flaky pie crust resulting in a really lovely autumn dessert.

The creamy custard filling reminded us of Mimi Jr.'s favorite dessert, Pear Pepper Pie, but the heat of the pepper was replace by tangy sweet apricots. Pears are another fall favorite at our house, for eating and baking, so we were excited to try a new pear recipe.  

Fold Over Pear Torte

Dorie Greenspan Baking from my home to yours 

One recipe good for almost everything pastry dough, chilled

Filling:

1/3 cup all-purpose (plain) flour

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

Pinch of salt

3 large, ripe but firm pears

Squirt of fresh lemon juice

Grated zest of 1/2 lemon

1/2 cup finely diced moist, plump dried apricots or moist, plump golden raisins

1/3 cup chopped walnuts

2 large eggs

1/2 cup sugar

1 tablespoon rum

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

2 tablespoons (~25g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1 cup heavy cream (I used light cooking cream)

confectioners (icing) sugar, for dusting

Prepare an 8 or 9 inch spring form pan with pastry dough:

Once the dough has chilled, roll it out between pieces of wax paper, into a 14 inch round. Place the rolled dough, still in between the paper or cling film, onto a baking tray, and refrigerate for 20 minutes:

Generously butter an 8or 9 inch round spring form pan. Take the dough out of the fridge, remove the top piece of paper or film, and turn the round of dough, bare side down, into the spring form pan. Remove the rest of the paper or film, then gently press the dough into the pan so that it is flat against the bottom. Next, press the sides of the dough up against the sides of the pan. Do this by turning the pan on its side and turn the pan as you press down the dough. The dough will pleat and may even crack. This is OK - just press the cracks together.

Once your pan is lined with dough, cover it and put it back in the fridge to chill while you make the filling and preheat the oven. Line a baking sheet big enough to hold your spring form pan with a piece of baking paper or a silicone mat.

Filling:

Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl. Set aside.

Peel and core the pears, then cut them into 1/4 inch cubes. Put them in a medium bowl, and toss them with the lemon juice to prevent darkening. Stir in the zest, apricots (or raisins) and nuts:

Using a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, or a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the eggs and sugar together on medium-high speed until they thicken (~ 3 minutes). Reduce the mixer speed to low, and add the rum and extracts. Still with the mixer on low, add the dry ingredients, mixing only until incorporated. Last, add the melted butter, then the cream, mixing only until the batter is homogenous.

Remove the chilled dough in the pan from the fridge, and place it on the lined baking sheet. Spoon the fruit into the bottom of the pan, then pour over the batter, stopping when you have 1/2 to 1 inch of crust extending above the batter. Don't overfill the crust - you may have some batter left over. Using your fingertips, gently push the dough down over the filling in a ruffle towards the centre of the torte. Don't push the dough into the batter:

There should be space between the filling and the crust, as the filling will rise to fill the gap.

Put the torte in the preheated oven, and lower the oven temperature to 180 degrees Celsius/350 degrees Fahrenheit/ gas mark 4. Bake the torte for 60-70 minutes, or until the crust is browned and a knife inserted into the custard comes out clean. Check the torte after it has been baking for 40 minutes or so, and if the crust is getting too brown, cover the torte with a foil tent for the remainder of the baking time.

Remove the baked torte from the oven, and allow it to cool completely in the pan on a wire rack.

Just before serving, run a knife around the outside of the torte to ensure it hasn't stuck to the pan, then remove the sides of the pan: dust with powdered sugar. 

printable recipe

To see what the other TWD  bakers thought visit our blog roll.