Date and Bacon Scones

I apologize for being so late in posting today. It turns out a little event, already monickered Sprinklegate, held me up today. I have been busy trying to get a response from ANYONE who can verify that they received a Sprinkles cupcake today in Dupont Circle. Crickets have been my only response. 

I am not a huge fan of dates. Based on your own level of love life produced bitterness, you may think I meant going out on a date. Partially I did. I've been on 71 first dates and though most have been good, dates are just so awkward, not unlike the food, which I also have no love for. 

When I went to Dubai I actually about a bag of candy for my sisters knowing they wouldn't be able to read the contents. I received a few text messages informing me I'm a horrible sister, and it was so mean to give them gross candy. :) Ah, sisterly pranks. I'm a grown adult with job, a small business, a master's degree, but somehow I've managed to avoid maturing enough to skip the pranks. Though I did rethink this after I was ganged up on, locked in a bathroom (who puts the light switch OUTSIDE the room?), and then attacked with pillows. Either way, dates are less than ideal, be it food, friend, or fiend.

We had two dishes that really stood out. One was called Angel Kisses and from what I could tell if you add enough sugar to anything it will taste good. Chocolate, coconut, and somewhere in the mix was a date, rolled up and quite tasty. I voted for the Morroccan Braised Lamb with added golden raisins, the winner, and an amazing dish. As for my dish, I made Date and Bacon Scones, they were good, despite having dates in them, because really bacon can save anything.

And for next month? Pineapple! I'm SO excited!

Bacon and Date Scones 

as found on Epicurious

10 ounces thick-cut bacon slices

2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 cup sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon coarse kosher salt

3/4 cup coarsely chopped pitted Medjool dates

1/2 cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter

2/3 cup buttermilk

Preheat oven to 400°f. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Cook bacon in heavy large skillet over medium heat until cooked through but still tender and not crisp, turning occasionally. Transfer bacon to paper towels to drain; cool. Pour bacon drippings from skillet into small heatproof bowl and reserve.

Whisk flour, 1/2 cup sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in large bowl. Coarsely chop cooled bacon. Add bacon and dates to flour mixture; toss to coat. Coarsely grate butter into flour mixture. Using fork, stir in butter. Add buttermilk; stir until large moist clumps form. Using hands, knead mixture briefly in bowl until dough forms.

Transfer dough to floured work surface. Pat into 8-inch round. Cut into 8 wedges. Transfer scones to sheet. Cover and chill scones 2 hours. Brush with reserved bacon drippings. Sprinkle with raw sugar.

Bake scones until golden brown and tester inserted into center of scones comes out clean, 16 to 18 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature. 

Five Cheese and Cranberry Scones

A different twist on the classic cranberry scone, this recipe mixes the sweet cranberries with the salty, and more mild authentic Mexican cheeses to create a unique blend. 

Second post of the year and can you believe I am already failing at condiments? There should be a flavored butter with these scones! I considered doing a jam...but really, when it came down to it these scones were already packed with flavor. Between Mexican cheeses and cranberries it was hard to come up with another flavor I felt like would be able to balance between the two. So.......I didn't.

Balance has been the word of the week. I have been going through all my work spaces and trying to create a bit more balance. I have no balance in my life. I'm not kidding. At all, So my friend says "I'm actually working right now because I'm bored not doing work." My response:

Oh, you mean how my “day off” has consisted of posting my work to 6 sites, baking scones, photographing them, making two types of ice cream, photographing them, editing them, tweaking recipes, reading 2 chapters in small businesses for dummies and beginning to write a business plan and build my own access database to track the cash flow of my projects. YEP. And that's a relaxing day off.

......yeah. You know what's sad? I really thought of it as a relaxing day! HA! I need help. I can't even just sit and watch a movie without opening my laptop and researching for a new article or recipe. UGH. So, maybe it's good that I didn't come up with a butter for the scones. Maybe that is just what I needed: a little balance.

I do really enjoy the scones. My poor roommate got put through a few trial runs before I finally found the right combination. We were eating scones all weekend. But who's gonna complain about that right?

Five Cheese and Cranberry Scones

2 cups all purpose flower
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons chilled, unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
1/2 cup dried cranberries

1 ½ cups authentic Mexican cheese blend (Queso Quesadilla, Asadero, Queso Gallego, El Regalo, Anejo Enchilado and Manchego cheeses, NO Pepper Jack!)
1 cup heavy cream

1 egg white

Preheat oven to 425°F.

In a stand mixer combine flour, baking powder, and salt in large bowl or work bowl of food processor fitted with whisk attachment. Mix together on a low speed.

Add in butter and mix on a medium speed until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add in cranberries and cheese. 

Switch to using a dough hook.

Add in cream and mix on a medium speed until it comes together into a rough, sticky ball. Roll dough out on a floured surface into a circle. You may either cut into wedges or using a biscuit cutter, cut into small rounds.

 Place rounds or wedges on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Brush tops with egg white and bake until scone tops are light brown, 12 to 15 minutes.

Enjoy!