Chocolate Chip Apricot Scones
makes 12 scones

Ingredients:
2 cups all purpose flour
1 T baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup sugar
6 T cold unsalted butter, cut into chunks
1/2 cup + 2 T cream
1/2 cup chopped dried apricots
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips + 1/2 cup chocolate for drizzle

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
• In a large bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Cut in the butter with your fingers and work mixture together until it resembles coarse sand. Add the chopped apricots and chocolate chips.
• Add the cream and mix with your hands until a dough forms. Make an eight inch circle with the dough and slice into 12 small wedges. Place wedges on a lined baking sheet and bake for 16-18 minutes, until golden brown.
• Melt additional half cup of chocolate chips in the microwave, stirring every thirty seconds until melted. Put melted chocolate in a small plastic bag, snip off the tip and drizzle scones with chocolate.

Time:
30 minutes

Blackberry Orange Muffins
adapted from Martha Stewart
makes 12 muffins
2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp grated orange zest
2 cups fresh blackberries (or berry of your choice..use frozen if you can’t find fresh!)
1 stick butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
Preheat your oven to 375.

• In a large bowl, combine the flour, orange zest, baking powder, salt and cinnamon together. Gently add the blackberries and stir so that the berries are covered with flour. Set aside.
• Cream the butter and sugar together. Add the eggs, one by one, until thoroughly combined. Add the milk and blend.
• Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and toss gently, being careful not to crush the berries. Scoop batter into 12 greased muffin tins sprinkle vanilla sugar (or regular granulated sugar) over the tops.
• Bake for 25-30 minutes until the tops are golden. Let cool for five minutes in the tins then pop out and cool completely.

Pecan Pumpkin Raisin Scones
makes about a dozen scones

Ingredients :
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup pastry flour (regular or whole wheat is fine)
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, cold and cut into small pieces
1/2 cup raisins
1/3 cup dry roasted pecans, chopped
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup pumpkin

Direction :

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl,  mix the dry ingredients (flour through baking soda). Using your fingers, cut in the butter…rubbing the mixture together until it resembles cornmeal and there are no big butter clumps left.  Stir in the pecans and raisins.
• In a small bowl, whisk together the pumpkin and buttermilk. Add this to the flour mixture and stir only until combined. Be careful not to overmix!
• Drop ice cream scoop sized balls of dough on a lined baking sheet. Sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 18-20 minutes, until golden brown.