The Food Site

Who needs to go to Cameron Highlands for some English tea scones when you can make it at home? I am not really a scone fan but then, that’s because I’ve never had really good ones until I tried some really good ones in Cameron Highland’s Ye Olde Smokehouse Hotel. Those are really amazing.

So.

I decided to make it myself. I mean, if I can bake up cakes and cookies, what are scones, right? Right. So, I went searching around the net and found several recipes until I decided to take whatever I feel comfortable with and wing it from there. My main focus is on using the least ingredients and the simplest method. Well, I have to limit my baking time these days as I can’t stand for longer hours nowadays what with a big huge belly and aching back.

And do you know scones are made up of the simplest recipe ever? You only need flour, butter, milk and baking powder. That’s all!

You need to cube the butter and rub it into the flour until crumbly. Then add in the milk.

Knead it into a smooth dough. Then pat into small round shapes (the size depending on you, I like bite-size scones so I made them really small) and place on baking tray. Sprinkle them with some flour and then bake them.

Scones are best eaten with some nice jam and cream.

Oh and yeah, they are damn good hot from the oven!!

Here is the recipe:

Easy English Tea Scones Recipe

Ingredients

1 1/2 cup plain flour

40g butter, cubed

1/2 cup milk

3 tsp baking powder

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C.

2. Rub the cubed, softened butter into the flour until crumbly.

3. Make a well in the centre and pour in the milk.

4. Mix with a spatula until it forms a soft dough.

5. Take the dough and knead it on a floured surface but don’t over-knead it.

6. Shape it onto small rounds and place on baking tray. Sprinkle with flour.

7. Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes.

These scones are best enjoyed hot from the oven with some fresh cream and jam.

Phew, it’s been a busy day what with all that mixing and baking for my Foodbuzz 24, 24, 24 entry. As you all know, I’m a Cookie Monster through and through so it is no surprise that I submitted a proposal to Foodbuzz for the 24, 24, 24 event and it involved cookies!

I’m sure most of you are intriqued by the title: 24 cookies in 24 flavours. Well, to put it simply, I baked two dozens of cookies and every single one of it is a different flavour. Sounds daunting? Yep, it is pretty daunting. When I submitted the proposal, I thought I must have been outta my mind to want to try this feat. So, when my proposal was accepted, I went into a panic. I wasn’t sure if I was able to pull it off. So, I tested it out over last weekend first and this is what I got:

It wasn’t as good as I expected. These are drop cookies but the dough was too soft. I got the cookie recipes from an old cookbook lying around at home. I didn’t have time to bake another batch to try it out but at least I know how to tweak the recipe to suit the different flavours.

Before I know it, Dec 31 is here and I’ve to set about cooking my 24 cookies in 24 flavours. Fortunately, the results are really, really good! Feast your eyes on these:

Looks better right? Anyway, I used the basic butter cookie dough and from there, add in the different flavours for each cookie. Here’s the recipe for:

24 Cookies in 24 Flavours

Note: This is the cookie recipe adapted from the Toll House cookies recipe.

Basic dough ingredients

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup superfine sugar

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 tsp vanilla essence

1 1/2 cup flour

24 flavours ingredients

1. a pinch of cinnamon powder

2. two drops of vanilla essence

3. powdered hazelnut

4. two drops of almond essence and almond nibs

5. 2 candied cherries

6. 1 tbsp chocolate chips

7. 1 tbsp raisins

8. 1 moist date, seeded

9. two drops of pandan essence

10. 1 tbsp sunflower seeds

11. 1 tbsp peanut butter

12. 1 tbsp nutella

13. two drops of coffee essence

14. two drops of strawberry essence

15. 1 tsp of 5-spice powder

16. 1 tbsp dark cocoa powder

17. two drops of orange juice / essence

18. 1 tsp pineapple paste

19. 1 tsp apple juice and bits of apple

20. 1 tbsp oats

21. 5 M & Ms

22. Two drops of rose essence

23. 1 tbsp sesame seeds

24. 1 tbsp blueberry jam

Here are some of the stuff I had to get ready to make the cookies:

Now, on to the method:

Instructions

Then comes the tedious part. I used a spoon to scoop up a tablespoon on dough and then add each flavour individually.

After each scoop, I’d wipe out the spoon to start anew for the next flavour. So, this is indeed a very time-consuming process.

10. Remember to preheat the oven to 180 C / 350 F before baking the cookies.

11. Bake the cookies for about 10 minutes. Use a spatula to transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool.

The whole process took me almost two hours!

I invited some friends over to try them out…

My friends don’t relish the idea of their pictures being put up here so…

I’ll have to say, baking these cookies are probably the most interesting baking adventure I’ve ever tried! It is tedious and takes up loads of time and energy but heck, seeing every last crumb disappear is well worth it. (not to mention me chomping down on a few too!)

Psst…did you notice that in the spirit of 24, 24, 24, I’ve even posted 24 pictures here for my 24 cookies in 24 flavours post!

Happy new year 2009 everyone!