S'mores for Days

Hello, lovely readers!

I didn't mean to neglect my blog for so long!

Work hours have gotten longer.

I moved into my own apartment.

I got a kitten! (His name is Philip - he's kind of adorable when he's not being a demon).

And I could list a whole plethora of other excuses, but they would be just that. EXCUSES. And I need to stop using them as a reason to avoid blogging. Now, I make no promises for super frequent posting, but I'll try to be better about it. And I, hopefully, won't have to make another post like this for a long, long time.

(I've missed an entire summer's worth of baking and I'm highly disappointed in myself).

Anyway! Back to blogging - Summer makes me think of family, friends, camping (which I haven't done either), cooking over an open fire, and, above all things, S'MORES. (My priorities are great, huh)? I have an unnatural (maybe even unhealthy) obsession with s'mores. And anything s'mores flavored, really. I eat them far too often in their traditional form and I always have to try any s'mores related treat that I come across. My favorites so far have been s'mores bread pudding at Walker's (Click here to check them out) and Campfire Mochas at City Brew (And check them out too)!

I mean, I just love marshmallows in general. Even though they're pretty gross when you actually sit down and think about what they really are. Trust me, don't do it. At the end of the day, though, I think they're delicious. Both in solid(ish) AND liquid form. Give me the choice of a hot fudge sundae or a marshmallow sundae ... I'll probably choose marshmallow. With chocolate ice cream. And graham cracker crumbs ...

HEY, LOOK. S'mores, again.

See, I told you I have a problem.

Side note: I've even seriously thought about having s'mores supplies on hand at all times. In my house, anyway. That'd get way too messy in my car.

Leslie Knope is my hero.

So, for this particular baking adventure, I took my love of s'mores and tried to think of a way to turn it into a delicious pastry. I ended up going down the path of the scone! Now, I know that not everyone likes scones. Or, at least, most people aren't super big fans of them because they're typically on the drier side of the pastry world, and these are no exception, buuuuuut ... whatever, whatever, I do what I want! (With love, of course. Always with love). Besides, I always thought that was part of the appeal of a scone.

Scones? Why, yes, please! I do believe it's time to make some tea to go with it!

Or I'll grab some nice cold milk!

It all comes down to the season, really. Or, if you're anything like me, you drink whatever you want, whenever you want. It's almost 100 degrees outside? No big deal - I'll have a hot caramel macchiato, please.

Anywho, this wasn't my first s'mores project. A few years ago, I made s'mores cupcakes, complete with torched mini-marshmallows on top. (I'd love to try to make a better version of that recipe sometime soon, actually). And, just a few months ago, I made s'mores fudge ... at around 11 o'clock at night. I'm pretty sure my roommates thought I went off the deep end ... or sank even deeper. It was worth it, though! It was so good!

(And now I'm wondering if I remembered to save the recipe. Ruh roh, Raggy...)

Now, on with the baking!

S'mores Scones Recipe:
1 3/4 cup flour
1 1/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
4 tsp baking powder
1/3 cup sugar
3/4 tsp salt
4 tbsp butter
2 tbsp shortening
2 large eggs, beaten
3/4 cup half and half
Chocolate chunks
Mini-marshmallows

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2) Combine flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder, salt, and sugar in a large bowl and mix well.

This counts as art work, right?

       - Side note 1: You can either buy pre-made crumbs or crush your own. I went the easy route and bought the pre-made ones.
       - Side note 2: You can sift all of your ingredients into your mixing bowl if you feel so inclined. I was feeling fancy when I made these, so I went ahead and used a sifter. It's pretty fun.

Sift it. Sift it good!

3) Cut in COLD butter and shortening. (Meaning, cut your butter and shortening into small pieces and add them to the flour mixture. Lightly coat the pieces first and then start breaking the pieces up. I use my hands for this process. Other people like to use a pastry blender or knives). Your mixture will get nice and crumby!

I forgot to get a picture of what it looks like AFTER you cut in the butter.
Oops.

4) In a separate bowl, combine the cream and eggs.

Itty bitty fork for an itty bitty job.

5) Add the cream mixture to the dry ingredients and combine until a dough is formed.
        - Side note: If the dough is too wet, add more flour.

6) Add chocolate chunks and mini-marshmallows. Mix until just combined.
        - Side note: I didn't put measurements for these. I say add as little or as much as you so desire! It all comes down to personal taste, after all! :-)

7) On a floured surface, roll out the dough to your desired thickness. (I rolled mine out to about 3/4 of an inch).

Needs more chunks.

8) Cut out biscuit sized rounds.

I didn't use parchment paper. Learn from my mistakes.

9) Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper. (Trust me, you'll want it to catch any marshmallow goo that leaks out of the scones)! Place your scones an inch or so apart from one another.

10) Bake the scones for 15 minutes.

11) Take the scones out of the oven and let them sit for a few minutes on the baking sheet before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.

12) OR! Go ahead and eat them while they're nice and warm! The marshmallows and chocolate will be nice and gooey!

Look at it's cute lil dimple! Omnomnom.

And there you have it! Simple, delicious scones! The next time I make them, I'm going to put even more chocolate and marshmallows. Or I may even cut them in half before I serve them and put a layer of marshmallow fluff on the inside to really ramp up the s'mores factor.

Mmmmm. That sounds so good ...

Give these scones a try, if you so desire! Or let me know what other s'mores treats you've made in the past or would like to see me make in the future!

As always, thank you for reading!! Please leave any comments or concerns below.

AND

Bake on with your bad selves!

Love,
Jackie

I'll Be Back

I promise I haven't forgotten about my blog! And about you guys!!

Life got in the way.

And lack of a proper working oven perpetuated my absence.

I love you all and I promise I'll be back very soon!

Bake on with your bad selves,

Jackie