ROASTED APPLE AND CHINESE FIVE SPICE SCONES

The other night, Alex and I were on our typical after-dinner walk when the topic of discussing our favorite month of the year came up. Yes, I know that’s a topic that’s usually saved for bad dates or icebreakers on the first day of summer camp, but we were honestly interested in what each other thought. We both agreed that October was far and away our favorite month for the same typical reasons: we love the change in weather and the cozier, chillier nights, the increase in watching horror movies all throughout the month leading up to Halloween, and lastly, all the seasonal food/drinks (apple pie, ciders, hearty soups, pumpkin baked goods, etc.) that start to creep back into our diets.

Alex brought up one more reason, a sentimental one, which was that October was the month in which we first ever visited Portland, Maine. Just in case you’re new here, Alex and I lived in Portland for about a year and a half starting in 2020, and we miss it greatly. Although there’s beauty to be found in just about every season of the year in Portland, whether it’s the abundance of blooming flowers in the spring after a long, hard winter, or the sun-drenched days of summer that are filled with beach/lake swimming, hiking, etc, it is autumn when Portland and the entire state of Maine truly peaks. From the beautiful crisp weather, to the blazing fall foliage showcasing gold and crimson colors, to visiting orchards for apples and other local harvests, it’s hard to think of a more ideal time. Essentially, visiting Portland in October led us to fall in love with the city so much that we moved across the country because of it.

Since our conversation led us to being nostalgic over Portland and reliving our favorite memories, I wanted to bake something that reminded me not only of when we were living there, but mostly of the visit where we were first introduced to the magic that is Maine. On our first morning in Portland (we had flown a red-eye in and arrived starving for breakfast), we had breakfast at the beloved Tandem Bakery. I’ve discussed my love for this bakery numerous times in various blog posts, but I’ll just say again that if you ever find yourself in Portland, make sure you stop in (early!) and get yourself anything from the pastry case… you won’t regret it. I’ve never had anything short of amazing from Tandem, whether it was their signature biscuits, slices of loaf cakes, or the various seasonal pies, but the scones were what always called to me. Ever changing to reflect what was in season, the scones at Tandem were my favorite because not only did they have the best texture and level of sweetness, they were unique flavor-wise.

Today’s recipe is an ode to Tandem and their perfect scones that I crave on a weekly basis. I can’t remember if the flavor I’m sharing with you today was the first kind I had ever tried at Tandem, but I’ll definitely say it was a favorite of mine. The scone is apples with Chinese five spice, and although it sounds simple enough, the scones are unique and unlike typical autumnal flavors. If you’re unfamiliar with Chinese five spice, it’s a blend comprised of cinnamon, star anise, fennel seed, clove, and peppercorn. It’s the perfect balance of earthy, sweet, and spicy, and works beautifully in baked goods. It can be found in normal grocery stores in the baking aisle, but just make sure you get a blend with the spices that I mentioned above since some of them might have cumin or bay leaves.

I decided to roast my apples before adding them to the scone dough because I feel like it not only led to a better and deeper caramelized apple flavor, but it also helped with avoiding having unbaked apples in the final product. I roasted the chopped apples with maple syrup, vanilla extract and a bit of ground cardamom (my forever favorite spice) to really drive home the cozy, fall flavors that I wanted these scones to possess. I know it’s adding more work/time with roasting the apples beforehand, but it truly makes all of the difference. One final, and optional, element of these scones is finishing them with an apple cider glaze. Apple cider can be pretty pricey, so if you don’t feel like purchasing it just for the glaze, it’s totally skippable.

Roasted Apple and Chinese Five Spice Scones

Yields 8 large scones

Ingredients

• 1 large or two small apples, unpeeled and chopped (Pink Lady, Jazz or Braeburn work best)

• 1 tbsp. maple syrup

• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

• 1/4 tsp. ground cardamom

• 3 cups (360g) all-purpose flour

• 1/3 cup granulated sugar

• 1 tbsp. ground Chinese five spice

• 1 tbsp. baking powder

• 1/2 tsp. kosher salt

• 1 1/3 to 1 1/2 cups heavy cream, plus more for brushing

• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

• Turbinado sugar, for topping

For the glaze (optional)

• 1 cup confectioners’ sugar

• 2-3 tbsp. apple cider

• 1/2 tsp. ground Chinese five spice

Directions

1. Make the roasted apples: Preheat the oven to 375°. Place the chopped apples in a small baking dish and toss with the maple syrup, vanilla and cardamom. Mix to combine and arrange in an even layer. Bake in the oven for about 30 minutes, or until fork tender, flipping halfway through. Allow the apples to cool completely before continuing (you can pop them in the fridge to speed this up).

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, Chinese five spice, baking soda and salt.

3. Pour 1 1/3 cups of the heavy cream into a measuring cup and mix in the vanilla extract. Drizzle this mixture slowly over the dry ingredients while using a wooden spoon to gently mix it together (I actually use my hands so I can get a good feel for the dough). The goal is to have no dry spots left in the dough, so you may need to add more heavy cream. Add in a tablespoon at a time until no more flour bits remain, but try to avoid making the dough too sticky. Carefully fold in the roasted apples.

4. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead it a couple of times. Using your hands or a rolling pin, work the dough into a 1-inch thick circle. Using a sharp knife, cut the circle into 8 wedges, transfer them to a large plate(s), and put them in the freezer for 30 minutes

5. Preheat the oven to 400°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Transfer the scones to the prepared baking sheet, leaving about 2 inches between each scone. Brush each scone with heavy cream and sprinkle with turbinado sugar.

6. Bake the scones in the oven for 18-23 minutes, rotating halfway through, until the tops are a light golden brown. Let the scones cool for about 15 minutes before adding the glaze (optional).

7. For the glaze: Sift the confectioners’ sugar into a small bowl (I always sift mine to ensure a smooth glaze) and add 2 tbsp. of apple cider as well as the five spice. Whisk thoroughly and add more apple cider if it’s too thick. Drizzle over the scones and enjoy!

CHOCOLATE HAZELNUT + ORANGE SCONES

It’s been about six months since my last scone recipe (these beautiful strawberry cream babies) so I’m thrilled to offer you a brand new flavor combination with my chocolate hazelnut and orange scones,

Ever since I posted the recipe for my chocolate orange bundt cake, my love for this classic flavor pairing has grown exponentially. Coming from a kid who detested the idea of any dessert involving chocolate and fruit (I’m looking at you as well, raspberry), it’s a big deal that I’ve overcome this, and I find myself constantly buying anything that marries the two. Since scones are my favorite pastries to get when I go to coffee shops, I had to see for myself if chocolate orange scones would work out. Spoiler: they did.

I decided to use the base of my cranberry-orange scones from an earlier post, which yields slightly sweetened and tender scones with a crunchy exterior. Unlike my strawberry cream scones, this recipe calls for cutting butter into the flour mixture. Although is a fairly simple procedure, the only thing you have to worry about is not over mixing the dough. My two other tips that will guarantee a perfect batch of scones are: 1) keeping the ingredients/dough as cold as possible and 2) brushing the pre-baked scones with milk/cream/egg wash and sprinkling with sugar. I go into more detail on these tips in my cranberry-orange scone post, so feel free to review them there.

Although these scones get a great amount of crunchiness from the added sugar on top, especially if using turbinado sugar, I also wanted to add some sort of nut for extra texture as well as flavor. I at first was going to try pecans, but when I opened up my freezer to check out my supply, I found two unopened bags of raw hazelnuts that were intended for gelato; it seemed to be fate. And since we all know how well chocolate and hazelnuts work together (hello, Nutella!), the combination of the two mixed with hints of orange zest sprinkled through out the dough brought it to a whole different level of deliciousness, This scone is quite simply the best one I’ve had in a long time.

Chocolate Hazelnut Scones

Yields 8 large scones

Recipe adapted from Epicurious

Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour

• 1/3 cup granulated sugar

• 2 1/2 tsp. baking powder

• 1/2 tsp. baking soda

• 1 tsp. salt

• Zest of 1 large orange

• 3/4 cup (1.5 sticks) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into 1/2” pieces

• 1 cup buttermilk, chilled, plus more for brushing

• 1/2 cup roughly chopped dark chocolate

• 1/2 cup roughly chopped toasted hazelnuts

• Turbinado sugar (or granulated sugar), for sprinkling on top

Directions

1. Sift the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together into a large bowl. Whisk in the orange zest.

2. Add the butter pieces to the mixture by working with your hands or a pastry cutter, and rub the mixture together until it resembles course crumbs. Slowly add the buttermilk, mixing it in with a fork or wooden spoon. Very carefully, fold in the chopped chocolate and hazelnuts.

3. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead it a couple of times. Using your hands, work the dough into a 1-inch thick circle. With a sharp knife, cut the circle into 8 wedges and transfer the scones to a large plate (or two) and pop them into the freezer for 30 minutes.

4. Preheat the oven to 400°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Transfer the scones to the prepared baking sheet, leaving about 2 inches between each scone. Brush each scone with buttermilk and sprinkle with turbinado sugar.

5. Bake the scones in the oven for 20-25 minutes, rotating halfway through, until the tops are a light golden brown. Enjoy!

STRAWBERRY CREAM SCONES

When I was working on this post earlier this week, I was worried that sharing another scone recipe so quickly after my first one wouldn’t make for ideal content, and that you guys would be bored. Little did I know that it’s been almost an entire YEAR since my cranberry-orange scones recipe went live, so apparently I don’t have the best sense of time! With that said, it’s a new year and it’s high time that I grace you all with another scone recipe.

Unlike my previous scone post, these strawberry cream scones are different in a few ways: both visually and ingredient-wise (and I don’t mean the obvious central flavor components). For as long as I’ve been baking scones, I’d always formed them into the standard triangular shape that we are all accustomed with. But over the past year or so, I kept finding myself saving Instagram posts that featured scones baked in a round shape since I found them to look so appealing and different. So I finally gave it a shot using my 3” round cookie cutter and I couldn’t be happier with the results. I found the whole process very simple (think of it like cutting out sugar cookies), and I’ll most likely continue to shape my scones like this for the foreseeable future.

As for the difference in flavor, I had always made my scones with butter, whether it was incorporated into the dough via tiny cubes or grated using a box grater, but these strawberry cream scones actually don’t have any butter in them! As I’m sure you’ve already guessed from the name of these scones, the fat in this recipe comes from the addition of heavy cream. I didn’t even know that butter-less scones existed (I guess I’m not so well-versed in the world of scones), so I was pretty hesitant of what the outcome would be like, both texture and taste wise, but they came out so incredibly tender and soft. And I found that making these scones is actually much easier because you don’t have to worry whether you properly incorporated the butter into the dough or not, or obsess over keeping the dough as cold as possible so that the butter in the dough doesn’t melt. Although I love my cranberry orange scones, these cream scones are reigning supreme in my kitchen at the moment.

As always when making scones, you have to stick to the usual rule of avoiding over mixing the dough which could lead to tough scones. And if you ask anyone what a scone’s texture should be, the word “tough” hopefully should never leave their mouths. So when making the dough, work mindfully, especially when it comes to the step of adding the heavy cream. Although you may use a wooden spoon or a fork for this step, I actually believe that your own two hands are the best tools. This way, you can actually feel for the dry pockets in the dough and therefore will know if you need to add more heavy cream or not. It’s definitely messier using your hands but can make it more fun. Please just try not to have nail polish or jewelry on!

To finish the scones before popping them in the oven, you’ll give each one a brush of heavy cream and a generous sprinkling of raw/turbinado sugar. The scone dough by itself isn’t that sweet, as it shouldn’t be, and so the turbinado sugar on top not only provides an amazing crunchy texture, but a little welcomed sweetness that you’ll get with each bite. If you don’t have turbinado sugar, you can substitute with regular granulated sugar.

Strawberry Cream Scones

Yields about 8 large scones

Recipe adapted from King Arthur Flour

Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour

• 1/3 cup granulated sugar

• 1 tbsp. baking powder

• 1/2 tsp. kosher salt

• 1 tbsp. lemon zest

• 1 1/3 to 1 1/2 cups heavy cream, plus more for brushing

• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

• 1 cup chopped fresh strawberries

• Turbinado sugar, for topping

Directions

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt and lemon zest.

2. Pour 1 1/3 cups of the heavy cream into a measuring cup and mix in the vanilla extract. Drizzle this mixture slowly over the dry ingredients while using wooden spoon to gently mix it together (I actually use my hands so I can get a good feel for the dough). The goal is to have no dry spots left in the dough, so you may need to add more heavy cream. Add in a tablespoon at a time until no more flour bits remain, but try to avoid making the dough too sticky. Carefully fold in the strawberries.

3. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead it a couple of times with your hands. Mold the dough into a disk and press it until the dough is about 3/4” thick. Using a 3” cookie/biscuit cutter dipped in flour, cut out the scones - you will have to re-roll the dough once more in order to get 8-10 scones. Place the scones onto a plate and place them in the freezer for about 15 minutes.

4. Preheat the oven to 425°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Take the scones out of the freezer and place them on the baking sheet. Brush each scone with heavy cream and sprinkle generously with turbinado sugar. Bake in the oven for 14-17 minutes, or until the scones are a light golden brown and baked through.

5. Scones are best if they are eaten right out of the oven, but will keep for a couple of days when stored in an airtight container at room temperature.