Mixed Berry Buttermilk Scones

One of the best parts of heading up to the cottage is all the delicious food we get to eat. Even though our trips are only a few days long, they feel like mini vacations which also means letting ourselves pig out a little. When ordering some bread from work for the long weekend, Mom also wanted to throw in some scones to go with tea. The scones we make at the bakery are amazing but I decided to make some of my own this time, so I looked through my Pinterest boards and decided to follow this recipe.

Ingredients 

2 1/2 cups of all purpose flour

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 1/2 tsp baking powder

6 tbsp cold salted butter

1 cup buttermilk

1/3 cup frozen blueberries

1/3 cup frozen raspberries

Preheat the oven to 425 F. Whisk together the flour, sugar and baking powder. Cut the butter into small cubes and combine on medium-low speed until the mixture is crumbly. Mix in the buttermilk. Gently fold in the berries just until they're evenly distributed. Sprinkle a flat surface with flour and form the dough into a circle (for smaller scones make two) about 3/4 inch thick. Sprinkle some sugar overtop and cut the circle into 8 wedges. Place the wedges on a non-stick baking sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes until the bottoms are golden brown.

These were great for breakfast, lunch or a snack in between. I warmed them up in the microwave and spread a little bit of butter inside, but they are also great with jam, clotted cream or even plain - just as they are! For some added sweetness try adding in some white chocolate chips, or make your own fruit combinations with what you have!

Coconut Raspberry Muffins

Feeling in the mood for coconut once again - but really who am I kidding? I'm always in the mood for coconut - I decided to make this muffin recipe for double coconut muffins that I had pinned on my Pinterest a little while back. The great thing about these muffins is that they had no butter, little sugar, and were also half whole wheat flour!

They didn't rise into your typical, crumby, muffin either but were more like a dense coconut biscuit, which I found to be even better. Though I loved the idea of 'double coconut' for taste I decided to mix in some frozen raspberries for some added flavour and colour. Great decision, they tasted amazing.

                            Ingredients 

3/4 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup virgin coconut oil

1 cup plain greek yogurt

1/3 cup sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

3/4 cup sweetened shredded coconut

1 cup frozen raspberries

Preheat the oven to 375 F. Grease a muffin tin with coconut oil. Mix together the flours, baking powder, and salt. Stir in 1/2 cup of the shredded coconut. In a small saucepan, heat the coconut just until it melts then remove from heat. Beat together the coconut oil, yogurt, sugar, egg, and vanilla. Combine the flour and oil mixtures together. The batter will be very thick and heavy, similar to a cookie dough. Fold in the raspberries. Evenly distribute the batter into the muffin cups and sprinkle the tops with the remaining shredded coconut. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

I intended to have these for breakfast for a few days but they were so good I could barely stop myself, or my family, from snacking on them and finishing them within a day and a half! Such a simple, healthier, and delicious muffin recipe, this one is for the books!

Apple Raspberry Crisp

Being the middle of January, today is rather cold and grey. It is also the perfect weather for one-person-sized, warm and oaty desserts. One of my favourites is apple crisp. The smell of apple crisp fills the room with the coziest of scents, and the taste makes your insides feel like they're cuddled up in a warm blanket - which you may in fact be. Feeling inspired by this recipe, but also feeling a lot less vegan and gluten free, I decided to make my own personal sized apple raspberry crisp to help myself warm up from a cold day.




                             Ingredients

               1 apple (I used granny smith)
                         6-8 raspberries
                            2 tsp water
                            1 tsp honey
                      squirt of lemon juice
                          1/4 tsp vanilla
                          2-3 tbsp butter
                           1/4 cup oats
                    1-2 tbsp brown sugar
                    sprinkle of cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 350 F. In a small bowl mix together the water, honey, lemon juice and vanilla. Peel and chop the apple into chunks, and with the raspberries, stir in the honey mixture until the fruit is well coated but not mushed. Pour the fruit into a small ramekin. In a second bowl, combine the butter, oats, brown sugar and cinnamon (the amounts of some of these ingredients depends on how crumbly you like your topping). Sprinkle the crumbly topping on top of the fruit evenly and pop into the oven for 20-30 minutes, until the fruit juices are just bubbling around the outside. I paired it with some greek yogurt on top but it would also taste great with ice cream or whipped cream (but I don't think I need to tell you that)! And of course this recipe can be doubled, tripled or quadrupled if there is more than one of you!