Clementine Weekend - Mini Clementine Buttermilk Scones

My final post for Clementine Weekend - Clementine Scones. OK OK...I know. It's Monday. I really meant to post this yesterday to end the weekend, but hey! It's Valentine's Day, so I'll just make it look like I meant to post the final recipe today because, um, you know... You should make these scones for someone you love.

Clementine Buttermilk Scones (found at and now for Something Completely Delicious)

Makes 10 scones (or around 20 mini scones)

1/2 cup butter, cold and cubed

1/2 cup buttermilk
1 egg
1 tablespoon clementine zest
3 tablespoons clementine juice, freshly squeezed, divided
2 cups all purpose flour
3 tablespoons sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
Egg wash
1 cup powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line a sheet pan with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, combine the all purpose flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder. Add the citrus zest. Add the cubed butter and cut into the dry ingredients with a pastry cutter or fork until the butter is the size of peas.

In another bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, egg, and 1 tablespoon of citrus juice. Add to the dry ingredients and stir with a spoon just until the mixture comes together and all the dry bits are incorporated.

Pat out on a lightly floured surface to about 1 1/2 inches thick. Cut out rounds and place on the prepared sheet pan about 2 inches apart. Brush the tops with eggwash. Bake until golden, about 12 to 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine the powdered sugar and remaining citrus juice to make a glaze. Cool the baked scones on a wire rack and spoon glaze over the tops while they're still warm.

*Feel free to use oranges, tangerine, clementines, manadarin oranges, and even lemons or limes.

I hope you've enjoyed the clementine recipes and I hope you've been inspired to use clementines in some of your own baking adventures!

Bake well and prosper!

Clementine Weekend - Clementine Popovers

Aren't popovers lovely? One of my favorite places to have brunch in the city is Popover Cafe where they serve monster popovers with almost every dish. Yum!

Well, today I made popovers with some clementine zest in them. Um, hello! SUPER yummy ESPECIALLY with some raspberry jam. Recipe is pretty easy too! Check it out.

Clementine Popovers (basic popover recipe from my Mom's Best Recipe Book)

3 eggs

1 C milk

3 T butter or margarine, melted

1 C flour

1/2 t salt

zest from 1 clementine

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease muffin pan well. In large bowl with mixer at low speed, beat eggs until frothy; beat in milk and butter until blended. Beat in flour and salt. Stir in clementine zest. Fill each muffin cup 1/4-1/3 full with the batter. Bake 30 minutes; then quickly make a small slit in top of each popover to let out steam; bake 8 minutes longer. Immediately remove popovers from pan and serve.

 Bake well and prosper!

Clementine Weekend - Celementine Pancakes

Still have tons of clementines? Not to worry. I am devoting this weekend to recipes that use clementines. (Have your own recipe? Send my way and I will post on Sunday! erika8cookies@gmail.com)

Easiest way to use your clementines is by using the zest in recipes.

First up (and easiest recipe of the weekend) - Clementine Pancakes.

Use your favorite pancake recipe or mix and use water, not milk. Add zest from a whole clementine (or less according to taste) into the batter. Bake as usual. Add syrup or powdered sugar.

If you want a stronger taste, substitute some of the juice from the clementine for the water.

Bake well and prosper!

PS Check this post featured on Real Sustenance's Seasonal Sundays along with other in season goodies:

http://realsustenance.com/seasonal-sunday-02-13-11/

This Would So Be Me - Comic

Another comic that involves dessert and happens to remind me of me!
From: F Minus
http://comics.com/f_minus/2011-02-11/

Bake well and prosper!

Oatmeal Carmelitas (with vegan butter!)

This past weekend I had a couchsurfer from Argentina staying at my place. It was her first time in NY which means that I got to do some toruisty stuff WITH a tourist. (Because, OBVIOUSLY, doing touristy stuff as a New Yorker is not cool.)

For instance, I went ice skating in Central Park for the first time.

And fell on my bum on the ice skating rink in Central Park for the first time. (Sorry, no pictures of that...just a bunch of soreness the day after.)

As for Marina from Argentina (yes, the fact that that rhymes makes me happy), she watched the Superbowl for the first time. She enjoyed taking part of the "stuffing yourself silly" American tradition and the commercials. I brought these Oatmeal Carmelitas to the party we went to. I have to say that using Earth Balance butter substitute made these the perfect end to the party because they weren't heavy (unlike the artichoke dip, mac & cheese, chips & salsa, sub sandwich etc that I ate beforehand.)

*Interesting side note: I happened to have the Earth Balance butter because of the LAST couchsurfer I had. She was vegan and made these brownies and left the rest of the "butter" for me to bake with. It's funny that I finally used it while I had a different couchsurfer around.

Oatmeal Carmelitas (from My Recession Kitchen)

Makes 24 squares - Use organic ingredients whenever possible.

2 cups unbleached white flour (Erika's Extra: I had to use bleached flour. Still worked.)
2 cups rolled oats
1 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 1/2 sticks Earth Balance butter substitute, cut into tablespoons sized pieces
1 cup chocolate chips
3/4 cup chopped pecans
1 cup caramel sauce
3 tablespoons unbleached white flour

Preheat your oven to 350°.
Grease a 13” x 9” pan.
In a large bowl combine the flour, oats, sugar, and baking soda. Stir.
Add the Earth Balance and mix (with a hand or stand mixer) until the butter is well incorporated.
Remove 3 cups of this mixture to another bowl and put the rest in the greased pan and press evenly to fill the bottom of the pan.
Bake for 10 minutes.
Sprinkle the chocolate chips and pecans over the baked crust.
Mix the 3 tablespoons of flour into the caramel sauce.
Drizzle the caramel sauce over the nuts and chocolate chips.
Sprinkle the remaining oat mixture evenly over the top of everything.
Bake for 20 minutes.
Allow to cool for at least an hour before you cut them into 2” squares.

Bake well and prosper!

Amazing Black Forest Trifle

When I come across blog posts with desserts that look amazing, I store the recipe in an email folder. This weekend I was perusing the folder and decided upon this recipe. Sure, it might not be cherry season. Sure, I had to wait 5 minutes for the helpful Whole Foods worker to find a jar of sour cherries in the stock room. Sure, I couldn't open the jar when I got home and had to wait for my friend to arrive to open it. But man, oh man was all of it worth it!

There were a few lucky coworkers who got to sample this divine creation. Their reviews are in: "Tastes so good! Could be used for a fancy dinner party." "Wowzers!" "This is so professional. Are you sure you didn't buy it and put it in the glass? No? Well then, will you marry me?" "I will salute you and this dessert by naming my first born after you...even if it is a boy."

So what are you waiting for? Cherry season? Tsk tsk. Go make this dessert now!

Black Forest Trifle (found on sophistimom.com)

1 pound tart cherries (I used a jar of sour cherries instead)

3 tablespoons sugar

chocolate buttermilk cake or your favorite chocolate cake or brownies (I used the never fail Super Natural Brownies recipe)

almond whipped cream (recipe follows)

1. Mix cherries with sugar and let sit for several hours, or until the cherries become juicy. Cut cake or brownies into thick slices and layer in the bottom of a large trifle dish or 4 individual dishes. Pour on some of the cherries with their juices and top with almond whipped cream. Repeat the three layers.

2. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving for the best flavor.

Almond Whipped Cream

8 ounces cream cheese

1 cup confectioner’s sugar

1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract

2 cups heavy cream

In a medium bowl, combine cream cheese, sugar, and almond extract with an electric mixer. Beat until smooth. Add in heavy cream, incorporating a little at a time to prevent splattering. When all the cream has been added, turn the mixer to high, and beat until soft peaks form.

Back well and prosper!