Eggnog Cinnamon Swirl Scones! Mmmm...

Eggnog is, without a doubt, one of my favorite things about this time of year.  Sweet, spicy, creamy… I just love the stuff.  The fact that you can’t get it the rest of the year just makes me look forward to it even more.  So, now that eggnog season is in full swing, I plan to take full advantage.  First up, eggnog cinnamon swirl scones.  Growing up in Utah, scones were big pieces of fried dough served with honey butter.  So for my friends and family from there, let me explain that these are not those.  To the rest of the world, scones are much more like biscuits.  (Don’t even get me started on the whole British biscuits are cookies thing.)  Anyway, no more time wasted discussing the name, let’s get started. 

Here’s what you’ll need:

2 ¾ cups flour
⅓ cup sugar
1 Tablespoon  baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon nutmeg
½ cup butter (1 stick)
1 egg
¾ cups eggnog
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 Tablespoon cinnamon

For the icing:

¼ cup powdered sugar
1 Tablespoon eggnog

The first thing you need to do is cut your cold butter into little cubes.

Next comes the flour.  Now, I tend to have the Food Network on for background noise quite a bit, and so often I see whoever is on measuring flour all wrong.  It drives me nuts.  I mean, how did they get through culinary school not know how to do such a simple thing?  So, that being said, I’m going to show you the proper way to do it, just in case you’ve been corrupted by the tv chefs.  Fluff your flour a bit, and then spoon it into your measuring cup. 

Scooping with the measuring cup packs it in and makes the measurement inaccurate.  So, once you have it mounded nicely, take the back of a butter knife, or whatever you have that’s straight, and scrape off the excess.  (obviously you want to do this over your flour container rather than the bar, but with only two hands, some pictures are impossible) 

See?  One nicely measured cup of flour. 

So, once you’ve got your flour measured, whisk it together with the sugar, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg, and throw the butter cubes in.

Mix until moist, crumbly looking. 

Measure your eggnog, then add the egg and vanilla.  Use a really good eggnog, it makes a huge difference in the end result.  You want one that is very thick and creamy and with a high fat content.

Mix well, and pour over the dry ingredients.

Mix the ingredients just until they come together. 

It’ll look like a bit of a mess, but don’t worry.  Just scrape it all out onto a floured surface. 

Flatten it out just a bit and sprinkle over a tablespoon of cinnamon.  Yes, I know that sounds like a lot, but trust me on this one.  Oh, and get some fresh cinnamon.  If you have a place that sells it in bulk, that's a good way to go.  You can smell how fresh it is, and also only buy how much you need. 

Knead the dough a few times just to create a swirled effect. 

Isn’t that cool?  Ok, now divide the dough in half and roll it into 2 circles.  They  should be 6 or 7 inches across and about ¾ of an inch thick. 

See, swirly!  Sorry, it doesn’t take much to make me happy when dealing with eggnog and cinnamon.  Using a pizza wheel, or a large knife if you prefer, cut the dough into 6 wedges. 

Transfer all 12 pieces to a parchment lined sheet pan or cookie sheet, spreading them apart just slightly. 

Now, place the pan into the freezer for 30 minutes.  After 15 minutes, turn your oven on to 400°.  I know some ovens say they only take like 5 minutes to preheat, but trust me, it’ll cook a lot more evenly if you give it more time.  So, after the 30 minutes is up, pull the scones out.  I chose to freeze half of mine for later.  If you want to do that, throw them into a ziplock bag and back into the freezer.

When you’re ready to eat them, just pull them out and follow the instructions from this point, adding a few extra minutes to the cooking time if necessary.  Brush the scones with a little bit of eggnog. 

It won’t take much to get a nice coating. 

I know they don’t look terribly fabulous yet, but put them into the oven for 20 – 25 minutes, and look what happens. 

The oven is seriously a miracle machine.  They should be nice and brown, and when you pull them apart they should be moist cake like. 

If they are doughy, they need a few more minutes.  Otherwise, move them to a cooling rack to cool for a few minutes while you make the glaze… icing?  Whatever you want to call it.  If you’re having them for breakfast, we’ll call it glaze.  If they’re for dessert, we’ll make it sound more indulgent and call it icing.  Either way, measure out ¼ cup of powdered sugar and add 1 tablespoon of eggnog. 

Stir until it’s smooth and looks drizzle-able. 

I like to put the scones back onto the parchment to drizzle it on. 

Serve with your favorite coffee or a glass of milk.

Crispy on the outside.  Warm and soft on the inside, with cinnamon that changes in intensity with every bite.   The eggnog flavor is somewhat subtle, but it’s there.  And then there’s the icing that follows when you lick it off your lips.  Ok, I seem to have a bit of an infatuation with these.  You can of course just pick it up and bite it, but I prefer to use a fork.  Icing makes for sticky fingers. 

See the cinnamon swirling through there?  Nice. 

What’s your favorite holiday treat?   

Undressed Stuffing... Unstuffed Dressing?

So, my Thanksgiving theme continues.  I’m trying to be helpful.  Plus, it gives me an excuse to enjoy all of my favorite sides on the lead up to the big day.  Besides, who decided we can only partake of stuffing (or is it dressing… since it’s not actually stuffed into anything?)  on turkey day?  I happen to know I’m not the only one with a fondness for the stuff.  Let me show you how I make mine. 

Here’s what you’ll need:

White bread
Cornbread
Sausage
1 medium onion
1 ½ cups diced celery
Sage
4 cloves garlic, minced
½ cup butter
1 cup chicken stock
1 egg
Cranberries (optional)
Salt & pepper

The first thing you need to do is get the white bread cubed and dried out.  I like to do that in the oven, especially with the humidity the way it is here.  Spread the cubes out on a baking sheet and bake them at 250° for about 20 minutes.

The bread should be crispy on the outside, but not browned.  Can you use already dried bread cubes from the store?  Sure!  I think it’s worth the effort, though, so that I can choose what kind of bread it is.  While those are cooling, we’ll move to the cornbread.  My local grocery store had these fabulous corn muffins, so I just used those.  If you want to make your own cornbread, knock yourself out.  Either way, just cut it into cubes.  It’s going to crumble somewhat in the process, but that’s fine.

Place the cooled white bread and the cornbread into a bowl with plenty of room for adding more ingredients and stirring them all together.  In my case, I had to use a pan because I didn’t have a bowl big enough. 

Next comes the sausage.  I use Beeler’s breakfast sausage.  In my book, there’s nothing better.  Not to mention, it’s all natural and they take good care of their pigs, and their customers.  If you can’t find it locally, you can order from them directly here.  (and if you do, be sure to get some of their Li’l Bites smoked sausages.  OMG they’re good!)

I had already used a third of the package for biscuits and gravy, so I had about ⅔ of a pound, which was perfect.  Go ahead and cook the sausage, breaking it up into smallish pieces in the process.

When it’s done, remove it from the pan and put in your onions and celery. 

 

Cook them until they are soft and translucent, then add the garlic.

Just stir it in and cook it for about a minute or so before returning the sausage to the pan.  Stir that in, and then turn off the heat.   

Now comes the most important part.  The thing that makes stuffing stuffing.  (or dressing dressing, if that’s what you call it)  Either way, you need sage.  It is what gives this dish its distinct flavor. 

Sage is a pretty potent herb, though, so you want little, tiny pieces distributed throughout.  Cut the leaves in half along the spine, then stack them up and slice very thinly. 

Separating the pieces with your fingers, sprinkle them over the sausage mixture. 

Now, smell your fingers.  Oh, don’t even go there.  Trust me, in this case, it’s a very good thing.  As you stir the sage into the hot mixture, your kitchen will suddenly begin to fill with the aroma of stuffing, rather than just sausage and onions.  Not that there’s anything wrong with those.  Ok, I got off track.  Allow the mixture to cool for 20 minutes or so.  I had leftover cranberries from making cranberry sauce last week, so I threw some in.  It added a beautiful color and a bit of tang, which was nice. 

Once everything is cooled and stirred together, melt the butter and mix it with the chicken stock.  The mixture should end up being right around room temperature so you can whisk in the egg without cooking it.  Pour the whole thing over the sausage mixture. 

Stir everything together, and pour that over the bread. 

Toss until everything is evenly coated and distributed, then walk away.  Give the bread at least five minutes to absorb the liquid before pouring it into a 9x13 pan.  Press gently to even out the top and get rid of air pockets. 

Cover and bake at 350° for 45 minutes.  Yes, I know I forgot to tell you to preheat your oven.  It should be pretty obvious by now that Seeley and I are horrible at remembering to mention that step and completely incapable of getting all the ingredients into the “ingredients” picture.  Oh well, no one’s perfect, right?  So, back to the stuffing.  After 45 minutes, remove the foil and bake for an additional 15 minutes.  It should be browning around the edges and lightly golden on top. 

Give it 5 minutes or so to cool and set, and then dig in. 

Me?  I had it in a bowl, for dinner.  No turkey, no mashed potatoes, just stuffing.  Who says it can’t be a main course? 

So, dressing or stuffing?  Which is it in your house?