Rhubarb Butter - An Easy Way to Preserve Your Rhubarb

Not too sweet, not too sour, this rhubarb butter is something that you would love on your toast or pancakes in the morning or on a scone with tea in the afternoon.

The weather has been on everyone's mind lately!  Our spring has been rainy and mostly chilly with an occasional seasonal day thrown in to keep us hoping.  My rhubarb plant, on the other hand, is very happy with the chilly weather and is keeping me supplied with plentiful stalks.  I don't always want to make a cake, pie or other sweet dessert every week to use my rhubarb and was delighted when I found this delicious and easy recipe for Rhubarb Butter in our local newspaper.

The scones above I saw in a Instagram post on my friend's Monique's feed.  She found the recipe here and it originally came from here.  The dough is folded over and over to create those lovely, flaky layers you see.  Sooooo good!  And, ever better with a dollop of rhubarb butter.  I'm sharing the recipe I converted below to make it a little easier for my American followers to make.

Other than growing prolific rhubarb, here are a few snippets of what has been keeping me busy the past few weeks.  The Mid June Garden!

Rhubarb Butter

Printable Recipe

Makes 1 pint

1 pound rhubarb stalks, cut into pieces
1 large apple, chopped and cored
½ cup sugar
pinch salt
½ vanilla bean, seeds scraped (I used 1/2 teaspoon cardamom)

In a food processor, blend rhubarb, apple, sugar and salt until as smooth as possible.

In a heavy, not aluminum, saucepan, heat fruit over medium-low heat until simmering. Add scraped vanilla bean seeds and the pod (or cardamom). Stir frequently and cook until thick and spreadable, about 20 minutes.

Store in a glass jar in the fridge for up to a week or freeze indefinitely.

Adapted from this recipe.

Flaky Scones

Printable Recipe

3-1/3 cup all purpose unbleached white flour
2 scant Tablespoons sugar
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1-1/4 teaspoons salt
11 Tablespoons (1 stick, plus 3 Tablespoons) butter, frozen until firm
1-1/8 cup buttermilk
Finely grated zest of one lemon
1 egg, beaten, for glazing

A very sharp knife is necessary to as not to depress the dough when cutting into triangles for baking.  Otherwise, they will not rise properly.

Preheat oven to 400 ° F.

In a small bowl, mix together buttermilk and lemon zest. Refrigerate until needed.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and sugar.

Remove the butter from the freezer and, using a box grater, grate the butter quickly and coarsely onto a piece of parchment or waxed paper. Refreeze briefly, if it has become soft again, then add the butter to the flour mixture and blend the butter into the flour with a fork or pastry cutter. 

Add the buttermilk mixture to the flour/butter mixture and mix together until the ingredients are just barely blended together. Do not over-mix.

Flour a work surface and turn out the dough. Using your hands, gently flatten it to form a rectangle.

With a rolling pin, roll out dough to half an inch thick, keeping the rectangular shape. Fold dough in half and rotate 90 degrees and repeat these last two steps twice again.

Roll the dough one last time to obtain a rectangle of 18 "x 9".

Taking the shorter ends, make an 'envelope fold', folding one short end to the center and then the other short end over that fold (into thirds). You now have a 6 "x 9" rectangle.

Using a VERY sharp knife or dough cutter, cut a thin layer of dough on each side of your rectangle. This step will make those nice layers during cooking.

Cut 6 square 3" x 3" scones...then cut each square in half on the diagonal to form triangles.

Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper spaced three inches apart.  Brush lightly with egg wash.

Bake for 20 to 22 minutes or until light golden brown.

Adapted from this recipe.

Cream Scones with Lemon and Dried Fruit~

How do you cozy up a dark and dreary winter day? Since the ice storm rolled through, we have had rain, fog and gloomy days...dark even earlier than than on a sunny day.  We like to light lots of candles (mostly the no-flame, no little burned fingers kind), turn on cheery music and on the weekends, I like to bake!

Early this week, I was craving something sweet but not too sweet. Something that would taste great with a warm cup of tea.  Scones sounded perfect and this was one of the best scone recipes I've tried.  Other recipes I've made have added butter and egg in the dough. This recipe gets enough added fat from using cream rather than milk or buttermilk to moisten the dough.  

First published in Bon Appetit in 1996, these scones are flaky and tender with a luscious lemony flavor from grated lemon zest - not only in the dough but also mixed with sugar and sprinkled on top before baking.

They are indeed perfect with a cup of tea - especially my favorite green tea with lemon.  

I added chopped dried apricots and dried cherries as I had them on hand.  Since my dried cherries were not brand new and soft, I plumped them in a splash of Kirsch liqueur before baking. I think dried blueberries would be delicious in this recipe too!

Even my husband, who is not a fan of dried fruit in bakery, loved these.

And did I mention the sugary, lemon-zest topping? So good!

So bring on the baking and bring on the light - we need it!

Cream Scones with Lemon

Printable Recipe

Makes 12 Scones

Note: I like to use organic lemons when I need lemon zest to avoid any pesticide residue.

2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup dried cherries (plumped in enough Kirsch to cover)
1/2 cup chopped dried apricots
2 teaspoons or so of grated lemon peel, divided (from 2 large, organic lemons)
1 cup heavy whipping cream (8 oz container)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Preheat oven to 425°F.

Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.

If your dried cherries are no longer soft, plump them in a small cup with enough Kirsch liqueur (Cointreau, Grand Marnier or Amaretto will also work) to cover. Place another cup on top of cherries submerge them. Allow to 'plump' for about 15 minutes or so and then drain. Squeeze dry with paper toweling.

Mix flour, the 1/4 cup of sugar, baking powder and salt in large bowl. Stir in apricots, cherries and 1 teaspoon lemon zest. Add whipping cream and stir just until dough forms. If necessary, add another tablespoon or so of milk if your dough is still too dry but don't get the dough too wet. Kneed dough gently on a lightly floured surface, just until dough holds together. Form the dough into a 10-inch circle, 1/2 inch-thick or so. Cut into 12 wedges with a clean knife dipped in cold water. 

Transfer wedges onto a large baking sheet, about 2 inches apart. Combine remaining 2 tablespoons sugar and 1 teaspoon lemon peel in small bowl. Brush scones with melted butter and sprinkle with the sugar mixture.

Bake scones in the preheated oven until light golden brown, about 15-25 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool slightly. Serve scones warm or at room temperature. May be made a day ahead and wrapped in foil.

Adapted from Bon Appetit, 1996

"Be Mine" Chocolate Chip and Dried Cherry Scones

Looking for a delicious treat for your special someone (or your special self) for Valentine's Day breakfast or brunch? These heart-shaped scones could be the perfect start to a wonderful day.

Ah, the heart. The single most important symbol of our humanity throughout history. Many ancient philosophers though the heart was the place where our emotions originated. It should really be the shape of a brain, but that wouldn't be nearly as enchanting. Old customs die hard ❣ Any other symbol would be heart-breaking, and that's straight from my heart ❤

Heart Shaped Chocolate Chip and Dried Cherry Scones

Adapted from this recipe on Epicurious
Printable Recipe

The dough can be made the the day before, the shapes cut out and refrigerated on a baking sheet (unbaked) overnight.  Just pop them into the oven the next morning and they'll be ready in 20 minutes.

Makes about 12.

2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
7 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, diced
1 teaspoon (packed) grated orange peel
3/4 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup coarsely chopped dried tart cherries
2/3 cup chilled buttermilk
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
Milk (for glaze)

Preheat oven to 400F.

Place a piece of parchment paper or a silicone liner on a baking sheet.

Whisk 2 cups flour, 1/3 cup sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in large bowl. Add butter and grated orange peel; rub in with fingertips until coarse meal forms. Mix in chocolate chips and dried cherries.

Whisk buttermilk, egg yolk, vanilla extract, and almond extract in small bowl to blend. Add buttermilk mixture to dry ingredients; stir with fork until dough comes together in moist clumps. Gather dough into ball. Press out dough on lightly floured surface to 3/4-inch thickness. Using a 2-inch heart-shaped cookie cutter, cut out scones. Gather scraps, press out dough and cut out additional scones. Transfer to baking sheet, spacing 1 inch apart. These can be made 1 day ahead up to this point. Cover and chill until ready to bake.

Brush scones lightly with milk; sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons sugar. Bake until scones are crusty on top and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 15 minutes (or up to 20 minutes if refrigerated).

Serve warm or at room temperature.

Basic and Simple Breakfast Scones

I enjoy making special breakfasts on the weekend.  The weekend is perfect excuse to ramp up the usual fare.

Scones are another wonderful recipe that we can credit to Scotland.  My other favorite Scottish recipe is for shortbread cookies.  I recently found this recipe for scones that differed so much from other recipes I had tried in the past that I had to try it for this weekend's special morning treat.  These are simple and delicious!

The one thing I know about making scones is that you should not 'overwork' the dough.  Only mix until the dry ingredients are incorporated with the wet ingredients. Here are my rolled and cut scones with their egg and milk 'wash' reading for the oven:

 Here are the puffed and golden beauties right after baking:

I couldn't wait to bite into one. They were wonderfully light and biscuit-y for lack of a better description.  Just a little sugar in the batter and another sprinkle of sugar over the egg wash gave them just the right amount of sweetness.  These are basic scones -  best eaten with your favorite preserves or a little butter warm right after baking.

A little of my favorite strawberry and rhubarb jam truly got my weekend off to a wonderful start ;)

Scones
Recipe Adapted from Rachel Allen
Printable Recipe

4 cups (500g) all purchase, unbleached, flour, plus extra for dusting
1 heaping teaspoon baking soda
2 heaping teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon sea salt
9 tablespoons (125g) chilled unsalted butter, cubed
1/8 cup (25g) baking (superfine) sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 and 1/8 cup (275ml) buttermilk or milk, plus extra for the egg wash*

Granulated sugar for sprinkling over scones before baking (optional)

*I did not have buttermilk so I used approximately 1/8 cup sour cream and stirred in enough milk to make 1 and 1/8 cup liquid.

Preheat the oven to 426F ( 220C/gas 7).

Sift the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt into a large bowl. Add the sugar and blend. Rub the butter into the flour with your fingers until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.

Set aside about a third of the beaten egg and combine the rest with the milk. Add to the flour mixture and mix briefly to combine into a moist dough. Place dough on a lightly floured work surface and press together lightly. Roll out to a thickness of about 1 to 1-1/2 inches.

Using a round cutter, cut out approximately 12 scones and place on a baking tray lined with parchment paper or a silicone liner.

Brush the scones with an egg wash made with the reserved egg to which a little milk has been added. Sprinkle the tops with granulated sugar, if desired.

Bake in the preheated oven for 10–14 minutes or until golden brown on top. Serve while hot.