Who wants the recipes??? Here they are...
Gingerbread Scones
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 c. packed brown sugar
3 tablespoons sugar, divided
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
2 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 ground cloves
1/2 ground nutmeg
1/2 c. unsalted butter, chilled (this is really important for flaky pastry), cut up
2 eggs, divided
1/3 c. buttermilk
1 tbsp. molasses
1 tbsp. water
Orange-Ginger Butter
Heat oven to 400 degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. In large bowl, whisk together flour, brown sugar, 2 tablespoons of the sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add ginger, cloves and nutmeg, whisk together until well-blended. With pastry blender or 2 knives cut in butter until butter is size of blueberries. (as with all pasty, it is important that you still see chunks of butter in the batter; they melt during baking and make air pockets and leave you with a flaky scone.)
In small bowl, whisk together 1 egg, buttermilk and molasses until blended. Pour into flour mixture; stir with fork until evenly moistened. With hands, quickly and and gently press together to form dough. Place on baking sheet; pat into 7-inch round, 1 inch thick. Cut into 8 wedges, separate slightly (they'll bake together)
In another small bowl, whisk together remaining egg and water; brush lightly over top of scones. Sprinkle with remaining 1 tablespoon of sugar. Bake 20-25 mins or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature with Orange-Ginger Butter.
Orange-Ginger Butter
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 tablespoon powdered sugar
1 tablespoon grated orange peel
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger.
In small bowl, stir together all ingredients until well-combined. Butter can be prepared up to 2 days ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Serve at room temperature. Makes 8 scones.
Pastry tips
Do not overwork your pastry. The more you beat it, the more gluten strands form, which makes the pastry tough.
Always use pastry blender or two knives when cutting butter in. Make sure butter is cold. If butter starts to melt while you are making dough, put dough in refrigerator for 10 minutes.
Scones dough can be prepared the night before; then all you have to do in the morning is pop the baking sheet into the oven and have a nice warm breakfast with little effort.
