Holiday Cheer!

Good Evening Everyone,

I have had the most enjoyable couple of days - and this despite attending the funeral of a dear friend of my Mom's.  It must be that I am finally catching the holiday cheer and relaxing a bit.  Whew! 

Last night I wasn't blogging because at 5 PM I was at the store. At 6:30 pm we had just finished dinner and by midnight we (hubby and I...the dog bailed out and went to sleep) had made Dark Chocolate Orange Scones, Caramels and my Yummy in the Tummy Bars.  To this I added loaves of Cranberry Orange Pecan Bread that I made earlier and tucked into the freezer.  Why all the goodies?  It was not for the funeral reception, though I would have gladly shared, but rather to treat my fiber friends to a bit of sweet for their Christmas celebrations.  Tuesday afternoon is Fiber Fun at my friend Silda's house.

So today after enjoying a wonderful celebration of Walt's life I headed home with my Mom in tow.  We ate a quick bite and then piled all the yummy treats into her car and off we went.  It was a joyful afternoon - just the kind of tonic my mother needed.  We chatted, knitted, laughed and ate.

I hope everyone else is getting some time to stop and enjoy their friends and family like I did today.  I am including a recipe for my scones in case you decide you need yet another delectable treat in your pantry. Cheers!

Janet

Dark Chocolate Orange Scones                              Heat oven to 425 degrees
2 cups flour sifted before measuring (very important to sift)
1 tablespoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup sugar

Measure all dry ingredients and mix together well. Zest one orange and add to dry mixture.  Stir well to separate and coat the orange zest.  If you wish you can also add a tablespoon of candied orange peel at this point.  Stir this in well.

Next coarsely chop 1 cup of chocolate.  Make it a mixture of super dark (75+%) chocolate, dark (70%) and (65%) and a little bit of semi-sweet.  Add to the dry ingredients.  Stir.

1 and 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream

2 Tab butter melted
2 Tab sugar

Add the cream and use a fork to stir just until the mixture holds together.  It may be sticky.  Turn out onto a floured board.  Knead 10 times turning 1/4 turn each time.  Pat into a 9-inch circle.  Use a pastry brush to brush on the melted butter.  Sprinkle with sugar.  Cut into 8 wedges...or like I did last night, I made a whole bunch of small bite sized wedges!

Place on ungreased baking sheet and bake for 12-17 minutes or until just turning light brown at the edges.  Remove to a rack to cool.  May add an orange glaze by squeezing the orange you zested and mixing it with some powered sugar.  Cool scones before adding glaze.  Store in air tight container.  Can be frozen.