Almond Paste Scones Food

DRIED CHERRY ALMOND SCONES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• In a small bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, lemon zest, salt and cinnamon. Add in the butter and rub with your fingers into the dry ingredients until a coarse meal forms. Add in the cherries and almonds. Add the heavy cream and combine it into the butter flour mixture.
• Form the dough into a 1-inch thick disk and cut it into 6 wedges. Sprinkle each wedge generously with the turbinado sugar. Transfer the wedges to a parchment-lined sheet pan and bake in the preheated oven for 17 to 18 minutes, turning the pan halfway through. Serve warm with Honey Butter.
• In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, add all ingredients and whip on high speed until the cream starts to clump and turn light yellow. Continue mixing as butter forms and the buttermilk begins to separate out. Scrape sides and continue mixing until mixture is one lump of butter. Place butter into a clean container or serving dish and store in the refrigerator until ready to use.

ALMOND PASTE

Steps:

• Grind almonds in a blender. Thoroughly mix in confectioners sugar. Beat egg whites slightly, then stir into the almond mixture. Add almond extract or rosewater (see Cook's Note), using your hands to blend the heavy mixture.
• Store in the refrigerator up to 1 week or in the freezer up to 3 months.

AWESOME ALMOND SCONES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
• Line baking sheet with parchment paper and lightly spray paper with nonstick cooking spray.
• Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, butter, almond paste and almonds in food processor.
• Pulse until mixture has the consistency of coarse crumbs. Put in a large bowl.
• Whisk together egg, egg yolk and 2/3 cup cream until blended. Stir the egg mixture into the flour mixture until dough just begins to hold together.
• Add dough to lightly floured surface. With lightly floured hands, pat dough to 1/2" thickness.
• Cut scones using a 2" diameter heart-shaped cookie cutter or round biscuit cutter. Gather excess dough and repeat process. Place scones 3" apart on prepared baking sheet.
• Lightly brush surface of scones with remaining 2 tablespoons of cream.
• Bake 15-20 minutes, or until puffed and golden brown.
• Remove from oven and cool on wire rack.
• Now: I add about 1/2 teaspoon of almond extract or so to my cream and egg mixture. I do not cut these with a cookie cutter and re-roll. I usually just cut them in squares and then into triangles.
• I also freeze them on a wax-paper lined sheet for several hours before baking and add about 3-4 minutes to my baking time.

ALMOND PASTE SCONES

Steps:

• If using optional amaretto, soak cherries in amaretto for 15-20 minutes before beginning.
• Preheat the oven to 375°F Stack two baking sheets together and line the top one with parchment paper. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Using the large holes on a box grater, grate the almond paste and then the butter directly into the dry ingredients. With a pastry cutter, cut the almond paste and the butter into the dry ingredients until a few pea-sized lumps remain. Stir in the cherries or mini chocolate chips. (If using amaretto, drain cherries before adding. Drink or discard amaretto.).
• In a separate small bowl, whisk together the heavy cream, egg, and both extracts. With a fork, gradually stir enough of the liquid into the dry mixture until the mixture just starts to come together, reserving about 1 tablespoon of the liquid to brush the tops of the scones.
• Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and very gently pat into an 8-inch round about 1 1/2 inches high. Using a chef's knife or bench scraper. cut the dough round into 8 wedges. Transfer the wedges to the baking sheet, spacing the scones at least 1 inch apart. Lightly brush the tops of the scones with the reserved egg-cream mixture and sprinkle liberally with sugar.
• Bake in the top third of the oven for 15 to 18 minutes or until the tops are golden. Transfer the scones to a wire rack to cool slightly, 3 to 4 minutes. Serve warm.

ALMOND PASTE

Steps:

• Force blanched almonds through fine blade of food chopper 4x or whirl in electric blender. Add lemon juice.
• Cook water and sugar until candy thermometer registers 240*F or until a small amount of mixture dropped into cold water forms a soft ball. Add to ground almonds. Mix well. When cool enough to handle, knead until smooth. Cool.
• Pack in a jar, cover & store in refrigerator for at least 1 week to ripen. Makes about 2 pounds.
• NOTE: If almond paste is too stiff to handle after storage, place in top part of double boiler and heat over hot, NOT boiling, water until sufficiently soft to handle. Use in cookies, coffee cakes or in other pastries and desserts.

ZAARBUCKS FAMOUS APRICOT ALMOND SCONES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°F.
• Prepare baking sheet by spraying lightly with cooking spray.
• In a large bowl, combine the the flour, 1/4 cup sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
• Cut in the margarine until the mixture resembles course meal.
• Add the apricots and almonds into the flour mixture and mix thoroughly.
• In a smaller bowl, mix together the yogurt, sour cream, and extracts.
• Cut and fold the yogurt/sour cream mixture into the flour until you can collect the dough. Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface just until it can be shaped. If the dough is too sticky add a little more flour but take care not to add too much as it toughens up the scones. Similarly, over kneading the dough also diminishes the final result.
• Place the dough ball on the baking sheet and spread out into an 8 or 10 inch disk.
• Lightly brush the milk on the top and sprinkle with the remaining 2 teaspoons of sugar.
• Using a very long knife (bread knives work well) cut half way through the dough. You are making indentations, not actually portioning the scone. Repeat until the scone has been divided into 8 wedges. (You can also cut into 12 pieces if you want smaller pieces).
• Bake the scones 20 - 22 minutes.
• Best served warm but cold is good too.
• Enjoy!

APRICOT ALMOND SCONES

Steps:

• Make apricot swirl:
• Simmer apricots and water in a small heavy saucepan, covered, stirring occasionally, until water is absorbed, about 3 minutes, then transfer to a food processor. Add brown sugar and Amaretto and pulse to a coarse purée. Add almonds and pulse once or twice to coarsely chop nuts.
• Transfer purée to a bowl and cool to room temperature.
• Make scones:
• Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 375°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment or wax paper.
• Put flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and butter in cleaned food processor, then crumble almond paste and add to processor. Pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal with some small (roughly pea-size) butter lumps. Transfer to a large bowl and stir in 2 tablespoons almonds.
• Whisk together buttermilk, eggs, and almond extract in a 2-cup glass measure, then reserve 2 tablespoons buttermilk mixture for brushing on scones. Make a well in center of flour mixture and pour in remaining buttermilk mixture, stirring with a wooden spoon until just combined. Add apricot purée and stir once or twice to distribute without incorporating fully. (Dough will be wet.)
• Transfer dough with floured hands to a well-floured surface, then turn dough to coat with flour and pat into a round about 6 inches in diameter and 2 inches thick. Carefully transfer dough to lined baking sheet and cut into 8 equal wedges with a floured knife, leaving wedges together. (If dough is too soft to cut, chill until firm, about 30 minutes, before cutting.)
• Brush top and sides with reserved buttermilk mixture and sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons almonds. Bake until golden and a wooden pick or skewer inserted in center of a scone comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. Cool on a rack 15 minutes and cut wedges to separate. Serve warm or at room temperature.

SCANDINAVIAN STYLE ALMOND PASTE

Steps:

• If you're using blanched almonds, you can skip this step. But the almonds have to be skinless for this to work or else the skin bits make it all gross and I'd rather pay $4 for a large bag of skinned almonds than $9 for blanched when I can do it myself. Anyway, blanch your almonds by placing them in warm water for 15-30 seconds so all the skin peels off.
• Pulverize the almonds in a food processor.
• Add the sugar, butter, and almond (or vanilla) extract. Keep mixing until smooth and perfectly melded.
• Store in a glass jar or strong airtight plastic container, you can keep it at room temperature for up to 5 days and freeze for about 2-3 months. (Providing it won't magically disappear when you and your friends taste it! lol) Yields about 2 cups.
• When you want to unfreeze it-- DO NOT microwave, transfer it to the fridge to thaw for a couple hours.