Right about now, I’m probably slathering sunscreen on the kids as we get ready to head out to the beach for the day, buckets and shovels and beach towels in tow. My week of vacation is nearing an end, but I’m not letting that thought interrupt my fun.  I didn’t want to leave you all without a lovely post to read while I’m having fun in the sun, so I’ve asked the talented Jen Schall of my kitchen addiction if she would please – pretty please with a cherry on top –  fill in for me for a day. And she agreed! So, check out her post below, and if  you’re on twitter, you can follow her there, or you can become a fan of her facebook page. And definitely visit my kitchen addiction when you’re all done browsing here.

Whenever I write a guest post, I put a lot of thought into the recipe that I want to share. When Merry-Jennifer asked me to share a recipe here on the merry gourmet, she said I could write about whatever I enjoy most. So, I decided that I’d share my recipe for whole wheat buttermilk scones.

Long before I had my own kitchen, I spent a lot of time baking with my mom, and to this day I still have a passion for baking. I love to take recipes made with white flour and jazz them up a bit with healthier ingredients like whole wheat flour. That’s exactly what I’ve done with these scones.

You don’t have to have afternoon tea to enjoy these scones… They’re great for breakfast, lunch, or an afternoon snack. And, because they’re made with whole wheat flour, you can enjoy them without feeling any guilt!

Whole Wheat Buttermilk Scones

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
2 tablespoons raw sugar
2 tablespoons milled golden flax
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 egg
1 cup buttermilk
Half and half (about 1/4 cup)
Additional raw sugar for sprinkling on top

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 450°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

In a mixing bowl, whisk together the all purpose flour, whole wheat pastry flour, raw sugar, milled golden flax, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Cut the butter into chunks and rub into the flour mixture until it is crumbly.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg and buttermilk. Gradually add the wet ingredients to the flour mixture and toss lightly with a fork. Gently mix until the dry ingredients are incorporated and the mixture starts to resemble a dough. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and gently knead a few times until it comes together.

Pat the dough into a rectangle approximately 1/2-inch thick. Use a bench scraper or a knife to cut the dough into wedges (don’t worry about having perfect shapes). Transfer each wedge to the baking sheet. Brush each scone with some half and half and sprinkle with raw sugar.

Bake the scones for approximately 15 minutes, until golden on top. Cool for about 10 minutes on the pan. Serve warm.

Adapted from The King Arthur Flour Baker's Companion.

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Aaaahhh.

Did you hear that? I’m breathing a sigh of relief. A BIG sigh of relief, actually, because I’m finally getting some much needed rest and relaxation after a busy several weeks at work. This vacation seems to have been a long time coming.

In celebration of vacations and because today is Friday, let’s have a cocktail, shall we?

These beautiful mangoes called to me at Publix, and I’ve learned that when an ingredient calls, I have no choice but to listen. Mango margaritas seemed like a great use for the tropical fruit. When I made it with a simple syrup infused with mint, this margarita rocked.

The family and I are soon headed off to party with Mickey and Goofy and relax on a lovely oil-free beach on Florida’s east coast. Before I go, though, I want to share with you some recent blogs that I’ve been enjoying. So, make yourself a mango margarita, and take a peek at these sites:

• Honest Fare is a gorgeous food blog written by Gabi, just down the road in Orlando, Florida. Her conversational-style writing is just lovely to read, and her photography is amazing. I’m entranced by her beautifully rustic plum galette.
• Written by 24-year old Taylor from North Carolina, Taylor Takes a Taste is just filled to the brim with amazing food photography. Taylor documents his travels with photos of the most mouth-watering burgers and hot dogs and sweets that he finds along the way.
• A Thought For Food is written by Brian from Boston. He is passionate about cooking and it shows in his posts. I’ve added his rosemary shortbread to my must-make list, but his watermelon margarita may be of higher priority this week.

Cheers!

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Mint Simple Syrup

Ingredients:

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup water
• 3 or 4 sprigs fresh mint

Preparation:

Combine sugar, water, and mint sprigs in saucepan. Bring to a simmer and stir until sugar is dissolved, then simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool. Strain out the mint and chill, covered, in refrigerator until ready to use.

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Mango-Mint Margarita

[Makes 2 drinks.]

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups fresh mango, peeled and seeded and cut into chunks
• 1/2 cup silver tequila
• 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 3 tablespoons Mint Simple Syrup
• 1 tablespoon Cointreau
• 2 cups ice cubes or crushed ice

Preparation:

Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.

Several days ago on Twitter, Shauna of Gluten-Free Girl and The Chef posted something about enjoying fresh apricots, and it got me thinking. I had never eaten a fresh apricot in my life. Apricots are not grown locally here in north Florida, so I’ve never encountered them in the abundance that I can find local products such as strawberries, citrus, and peaches. I’ve had plenty of the tart-but-sweet dried apricots, but never a fresh one. So, I bought some, and I took my first glorious taste.

No longer a fresh apricot virgin, I wanted to put the bag of apricots to use in a creative way.  I debated making a tart, but we had plans for the next couple of nights and I didn’t want it to sit, uneaten, on my counter for that long. After trying to sort out whether I could use fresh apricots for scones, I decided to give it a whirl. Since almost every recipe I found using apricots in scones called for dried apricots – which seem much sweeter to me than the fresh ones – I started by roasting the apricots to try to concentrate the sweetness in the fruit.

The roasted apricots were definitely sweeter than the fresh, so roasting turned out to be a great idea. Roasting also caused the apricots to release a lot of juice, so the dough was a bit of a pain to deal with – sticky and messy.

But, oh my. These scones were delicious. The sweetness was very subtle, and I felt lucky every time I bit into a piece that contained a chunk of roasted apricot. Served with a heaping spoonful of  apricot preserves, these scones made for a fantastic breakfast. And morning snack. And afternoon snack. You get the idea.

Yield: 10 scones

Roasted Apricot Scones

Ingredients:

3 fresh apricots
4 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
2 large eggs
1/3 cup milk, plus extra for brushing
pinch kosher salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut apricots in half and remove pit. Place on parchment or foil lined cookie sheet and roast apricots for 25 minutes. Remove from oven, let cool a bit, then place apricot halves on a dish and place in refrigerator to chill. Once chilled, dice apricots into 1/8-inch pieces.

Increase oven temperature to 400 degrees. In food processor, pulse flour, baking powder, sugar, and butter just until the mixture starts to look like breadcrumbs. Transfer mixture to a mixing bowl and make a well in the center. In a second mixing bowl, beat eggs and milk with a fork. Add diced apricots to the milk and egg mixture and add a pinch of salt. Stir well, then add the liquid mixture to the well in the center of the dry ingredients. Stir well, adding more milk if necessary, until the dough is soft and dry. If the dough feels too dry, add an extra splash of milk.

Dust a clean work surface and a rolling pin with flour. Roll out the dough until it is 3/4-inch thick. Using a biscuit cutter or the rim of a glass, cut out 10 circles from the dough and place on a parchment-lined cookie sheet. Try not to overwork dough when rolling and re-rolling the dough to get all 10 circles cut out. Brush tops of each scone with milk using a pastry brush. Bake in 400 degree oven for 12-15 minutes. Place on wire rack to cool.

Adapted from Jamie Oliver's Fruit Scones recipe from Jamie's Food Revolution.

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