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Cook the Book: Valentine's Breakfast Scones

Posted by Adam Kuban, February 4, 2008 at 5:30 PM

The first of our Cook the Book recipes this week is for a simple breakfast Valentine that you could bake up for your sweetheart the morning of Valentine's day or for tea later that afternoon. They require a 2 1/2-inch heart-shape cookie cutter, so dig yours out of the drawer or go grab one at the kitchen-supply store if you don't already have one.

Breakfast Valentines

- makes ten 2 3/4-inch scones -
Adapted from Alice Medrich's Chocolate Holidays.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder if using Dutch-process cocoa (or a scant 1 teaspoon baking soda if using natural cocoa
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) melted unsalted butter, hot
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder, Dutch process or natural
• 1 egg, cold
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons cold milk
• Barely sweetened whipped cream, for serving (optional)
• Jam, for serving (optional)
• Berries, for serving (optional)

Equipment

• 2 1/2-inch heart-shape biscuit or cookie cutter
• 1 baking sheet, lined with parchment (or ungreased, if not lined with parchment)

Procedure

1. Position a rack in oven center. Preheat oven to 400°F.

2. In a medium bowl, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder or soda, and salt.

3. In a separate bowl, mix the hot butter and cocoa until smooth. Stir in the egg and milk. Pour wet mixture over dry ingredients; fold gently with rubber spatula, scraping down sides of bowl as you go along, just until all of flour mixture is moistened. Note: Do not try to make smooth dough.

4. Place dough on a sheet of waxed paper; pat into 10-by-5-inch rectangle (assuming cutter is 2 1/2 inches). Chill dough about 15 minutes to firm slightly.

5. Cut out 8 hearts. Use dough scraps to make 2 more hearts. Transfer hearts to bakin sheet; bake until tops are dry and cracked and bottoms have begun to take on color—about 12 minutes.

6. Serve warm or at room temperature plain, dusted with powdered sugar, or with barely sweetened cream or crème fraîche with jam or fresh berries.

2 Comments | Tags: Alice Medrich, breakfast, chocolate, Chocolate Holidays, holidays, scones, tea, Valentine's Day