Cherry Butternut Drop Scones

I have a pantry overflow shelf just inside the door to the garage. “What in the hell is a pantry overflow shelf?” you might ask. (In my mind you say it this way…with a slight twang—“Whaat. In the hail. Is a pantry overflow shealf?”)

Well….it’s the place where I put the extra cans and bottles and various and sundry pantry items that don’t currently fit in my adequately sized kitchen pantry. I’m Italian American. I buy extra amounts of items that my kitchen should never be without. I buy ingredients that look like they’d be good for a recipe I haven’t even dreamed of yet. I have a pantry overflow shelf…please don’t judge me.

There’s a can or two of Organic Pureed Butternut Squash on that shelf. “Why?” (Again…with a slight twang—“Whay?”) I don’t know. It’s pretty easy to just buy a butternut squash, cook it, and use it in recipes. I’d just never seen it canned. And, organic! Boom. In the cart. On the shelf. (It’s that easy. Try it. But, this time with a Northern Jersey accent. “Boom. In da cart. On da shelf.” See? You too can have a pantry overflow shelf.)

I’ve been eyeing that can for awhile. Thinking about what to do with it. And, the other day, snowed in, wanting scones, I grabbed it and started baking. I really had something more exotic than scones in mind for that can of squash. But, I was hungry and breakfast wasn’t going to make itself. And, scones are pretty quick and easy. Voila! Cherry Butternut Drop Scones.

They came out light and sweet and delicately, deliciously flavored. Butternut squash is not an overwhelming flavor but it provides a mellow undertone. I bet you could use pumpkin or sweet potato very easily in it’s place—they’re a little stronger in flavor but would be a good variation. After all, how many people have Organic Pureed Butternut Squash sitting on their overflow pantry shelf?

Cherries are, without a doubt, one of the most delectable of fruits. Visit Diane Elbin’s (The W.H.O.L.E. Gang) Friday’s Foodie Fix for more great cherry recipes. Oh yeah…check out The Sensitive Pantry’s Red Velvet Smoothie. Lip smacking cherry chocolate goodness for breakfast or a healthy dessert.

Cherry Butternut Drop Scones

¾ cup sorghum flour

¾ cup rice flour blend*

¼ cup tapioca flour

1/3 cup sugar

1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon cinnamon

Dash nutmeg

5 teaspoons Earth Balance

1/3 cup + 2 tablespoons rice milk*

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon vanilla

2/3 cup butternut squash puree*

Handful or two of dried cherries

Turbinado sugar for sprinkling

The Earth Balance, rice milk, and butternut squash puree are best if used cold but, if not, don’t let that deter you from making these on the spur of the moment.

Heat the oven to 400 degrees.

Mix the rice milk, lemon juice, vanilla and squash puree together in a large measuring cup until smooth. Place it back in the refrigerator.

Place the flours, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a large mixing bowl. Whisk together until combined.

Cut the cold Earth Balance into small chunks and place on top of the flour mix. Cut the Earth Balance in with a pastry blender, two forks, or your hands until it’s well incorporated and has the consistency of coarse sand.

Pour the wet mixture into the flour and mix gently by hand with a curved spatula or spoon. Add the cherries and incorporate gently into the dough.

Scoop big spoonfuls of the dough onto a parchment lined cookie sheet. Sprinkle with turbinado sugar, place in the middle of the oven and bake for 16-18 minutes. The recipe should make about 12 scones.

*Notes:

I used Authentic Foods Multi-Blend Flour, which has xanthan gum as an ingredient. If you use another flour blend be sure it has xanthan gum in it or add xanthan gum to the recipe in proportion to the amount of flour you’re substituting (about 1/4 to 1/3 teaspoon xanthan per cup of flour).

You can substitute the rice milk with another non-dairy milk—coconut, hemp, or soymilk, for example. Also, if the milk is vanilla flavored or sweetened you’ll want to adjust the vanilla and sugar in the recipe slightly.

The Butternut Squash puree was similar to canned pumpkin puree. You can use pumpkin or sweet potato, if desired. Since not all purees will be the same you may need add a little more flour or milk to get the dough to right consistency. The dough should stand up easily when spooned onto the parchment lined cookie tray.

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Orange Olive Oil MiniCakes

Recipes are like actors.

Some are BIG stars. They’re beautiful, have big personalities, are tasty, and have that je ne c’est quoi…that combination of things that’s so “now” you just can’t help but want them. You want them all the time. Dream of them. They make you drool in anticipation. They’re everywhere—tempting you at each click or turn.

And, some are character actors. Not stunning or pretty—just plain old regular looking. Lowkey. Turning out a pithy performance. Memorable but not something you’ll find yourself desiring on any particular day. You won’t think of them often or wait with bated breath for the next appearance. But, at that one moment you’ll appreciate their unassuming talent, their great performance. And, you’ll smile.

This recipe is that character actor. Not very pretty. Not seen on every blog or recipe site. But, giving a unique, memorable performance. And, it will make you smile.

Two very important tips: 1) Use the sweetest, ripest, most flavorful oranges you can find. It will make a difference in the taste of the cake. 2) Do not overmix at any stage of the recipe.

PS - My taste testers (aka co-workers) gave these babies two thumbs up!

Correction: Sorghum flour amount changed from 1/2 cup to 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons.

Orange Olive Oil MiniCakes

2 flax eggs

2 small juice oranges

¾ cups sugar

¼ cup olive oil

½ teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon rosemary, crushed

½ cup + 2 tablespoons sorghum flour

½ cup almond flour

½ cup tapioca flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon xanthan gum

1/8 teaspoon salt

Big pinch of ground cloves

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Place the oranges in a pot and cover with water. Set the water on the stove and bring it to a boil. Boil the oranges for an hour to an hour and half until they’re soft and can be pierced with a fork. (You’ll want to check on the oranges while they’re cooking and add more water if needed.)

Alternatively, you can skip this step and use uncooked oranges. I’ve done it both ways but find the minicakes with the cooked oranges did not have the after bite—which I suspect is the citrus oil—that those made with the uncooked oranges had. Also, the raw orange cake was a bit more light and fluffy whereas the cooked orange cake was still light but more moist. Just a matter of personal taste (and time). I liked them both.

Prepare the flax eggs: 2 tablespoons ground flax mixed with 6 tablespoons warm water.

Once the oranges are cool cut them into wedges and then each in half again. Remove any pits and the soft white pith in the center of the orange. Place all the pieces into a food processor and process until finely chopped. Add the sugar and process again for about a minute or so. By this time the orange mixture should be smooth but you’ll see some small bits, too. Add the olive oil, vanilla, finely crushed rosemary, and the flax eggs. Process until everything is mixed.

Place the remaining ingredients—flours, baking powder & soda, xanthan gum, salt and cloves—in a large bowl. Mix with a wire whisk.

Add the wet orange mixture to the dry ingredients and gently mix together with a spoon or curved spatula. Take care not to overmix and definitely don’t do this in the food processer.

Fill large muffin cups or small cake pans with an ice cream scoop full of batter. You’ll want to fill each about 2/3 full. Or, you can grease and flour a nine inch round cake pan and fill with the batter.

Bake in the oven for 20 minutes or until a toothpick in the center comes out clean. If you use a cake pan the baking time increases about 5 minutes.

Remove from the oven and cool in the pans for about 5 minutes then remove to a cooling rack.

Sprinkle with confectioners sugar, serve, and smile.

Some notes:  Don’t over mix the wet mixture or when you mix the dry and wet mixtures together. Less is more in this case.  Also, I doubled the recipe recently and it wasn’t as good as the single recipe so, I don’t recommend it. Finally, use the sweetest, ripest thin skinned oranges you can find. The oranges make the cake so if they don’t taste good the cake won’t either.

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