Peach Scones

Peaches taste so wonderfully sweet and juicy that most of the time we eat them just as they are, before I have a chance to bake with them.

Then winter shows up for what seems like 6 months.

Enter the humble canned peach.

Did you know that most of the canned peaches here in Canada are actually California cling peaches? They’re picked and packed in their own juices, usually within 24 hours to ensure they retain their appearance, texture, flavour, and nutritional content.

Now, it would seem as though I’ve come to infiltrate your week with an excuse to make a batch of tender and flaky scones.

Can I persuade you with these doughy peach scones that are super tender and stuffed full of juicy peaches? I’m warning you though they might just quickly become your new favourite.

These scones are seriously some of the best. They may not be much healthier than your average scone but who ever said you can’t enjoy dessert with a cup of coffee or tea?

To make them you’ll need all-purpose flour, sugar, baking powder + soda, salt, fresh 2% milk, lemon juice, cold butter, and of course juicy canned peaches!

For the glaze you’ll need 2 teaspoons of both milk and granulated sugar, and 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon.

Those peaches add a nice boost of Vitamin C and A.

Dessert with benefits? Now were talking!

Let’s get flaky!

Tips and Tricks for Recipes Success:

1.    The key to tender, flaky scones is cold butter!

2.    You can use your hands to finish bringing the dough together after stirring in the wet ingredients.

3.  Be sure to pat your canned peaches dry after dicing them or they will make your dough very soggy.  

4.  Empty the dough out onto a floured surface and flatten it out into a rectangular shape.

5.   Lay your diced peaches on top of the dough then fold the dough over itself to contain the peaches, it’s almost like a filling, and press gently together around the edges.

6.  Fold the dough in half once more lengthwise and flatten it out to about a 9-inch circle.

7.   Add flour as you go. You don’t need much, but you just don’t want it sticking to the work surface.

Peach Scones makes 8-12 scones

Ingredients

1 cup (250ml) 2% milk
2 tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
2½ cups all-purpose flour
¼ cup granulated sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
¼ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp fine sea salt
½ cup cold butter, cubed
1 cup canned peaches, diced

Topping:

2 tsp 2% milk
2 tsp granulated sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon

Directions

1.    Preheat the oven to 425°F, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2.    In a small bowl or glass measuring cup, add the 1 cup of milk and stir in 2 tablespoons of lemon juice; set aside.

3.    In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Cut in the butter with a pastry cutter or the back of a fork until the mixture resembles fine crumbs. Make a well in the center. Stir in the milk with a fork until a soft, sticky dough forms. If you wish you can finish combining the dough with your hands.

4.    Turn out the dough onto a floured surface and, with floured hands, gently flatten it down into a rectanglular shape. Lay your diced peaches on top of the dough then fold the dough over itself to contain the peaches, and press gently together around the edges. Gently, fold the dough in half once more lengthwise, adding more flour as you go to prevent sticking as necessary, until the peaches are dispersed. Flatten the dough out to a 9-inch circle; cut into 8 - 12 wedges.

5.    Place on prepared baking sheet, at least 1 inch apart. Stir together 2 teaspoons of sugar and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon for the topping. Brush tops of scones with a little milk and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until puffed and golden. Let cool for 10 minutes and enjoy with a pat of butter.

Nutrition Facts

For one scone (based on 8): 285 calories, 12g of fat, 7g saturated fat, 37g of carbs, 1.5g fiber, 9g sugar, 246mg sodium, 5g of protein

Bonus Nutritional Benefits: Vitamin A 11%, Vitamin C 15%, Calcium 5%

Today’s post is sponsored by the California Cling Peach Board. Product opinions are always my own. If I didn’t love it, you wouldn’t be hearing about it. I truly appreciate your continued support!

Chicken Noodle Soup

Well hello there! It's been far too long since my last post.

So first, a little update about the blog. As you may have noticed under the recipes section of my site there appears to be no recipes! I just about flipped when I saw this, with thoughts running through my head thinking, "how long has my website been like this?", and "why is this happening, why is there a blank page where all my recipes should reside in one big collection?". Well it turns out the culprit was the implementation of SSL to make my site more secure. Without getting too technical, it basically decided that the bit of code I use to load and log all my recipes from a website called ReciPage was insecure and it is now blocking it from loading. 

This has been a huge headache for me, I even received a nasty email from someone telling me that my site was horrible. Ugh. I am very sorry for any inconvenience this has been, but please be kind. This is my own little corner of the internet and sometimes things go wrong when it comes to technology. 

I'm working diligently on collecting, categorizing, and rebuilding all my recipes on a new dedicated Recipes section for the blog. It wont be fast, but it will be reliable. And in the meantime you can go to the current recipes section and get the recipes to show by clicking on the green lock in the upper left corner of your browser right beside the url bar. A small window will open that looks like this:

Once you have that showing you then click on the little arrow you can see to the far right of that small window. Next you want to click on the button that says, "Disable Protection For Now". This should allow you to view my recipes while I work on getting the page up and running. Of course you can also use the search bar in the right sidebar at the top of every page.

Thank you so much for all patience. If you ever have any questions or suggestions please contact me. Your support means a lot to me! You guys are what helps me keep this blog going. 

Now let's get down to the goods.

This soup. It was so good!!!

Fall and wintry foods have really been speaking to me lately. They're so comforting, easy to prepare, and simple.

This chicken noodle soup is no exception either.

Whether its a case of the sniffles or just another weekday night, there's something magical about chicken soup.

There are so many variations on chicken soup: white chicken chilli, spicy chicken gumbo, chicken minestrone. But a good classic chicken noodle is my favourite. It's perfect for these cold winter months and it comes together quickly. It would be great idea to make it ahead of time and freeze some for busy or lazy weeknights.

This hearty soup is practically a meal in itself.

Chicken Noodle Soup

(makes 4 servings)

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1 cup sliced carrots
• 1/2 cup sliced celery
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 4 cups no-salt added chicken broth
• 2 cups diced russet or baking potato, about 1 large
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 8 ounces cooked chicken, sliced
• 2 ounces uncooked large egg noodles

Directions:

1. Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion, carrots, celery, and garlic clove; sauté 5 minutes.
2. Sprinkle oregano and thyme over vegetables, and cook 1 minute. Stir in broth, potato, and salt; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer, partially covered, 25 minutes or until potato is tender.
3. Add cooked chicken and egg noodles, and cook 10 minutes or until noodles are tender.

Nutrition Facts

Makes 4 servings (serving size: 1 1/4 cups approx.): 208 calories, 1.2g of fat, 0.1g saturated fat, 25.5g of carbs, 4.5g fiber, 4.6g sugar, 463mg sodium, 22.5g of protein

Bonus Nutritional Benefits: Vitamin A 47.5%, Vitamin C 28%, Iron 9.4%

Percentage values are based on a 2000 calorie diet. Your daily value may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

Happy New Year everyone!