cinnamon chip scones.

Have you ever had cinnamon chip scones before? For our anniversary, Grant and I stayed in a hotel and ate the restaurant there the next morning. They had the best cinnamon chip scones ever- I even ate 2! Being diabetic, I try to eat more protein at breakfast instead of the "bread-y"/high carb foods. That's why it was a huge deal I ate 2!

Within days of eating these scrumptious scones, I set out to find cinnamon chips and a killer scone recipe. I found it and I am sharing it with you- enjoy!!

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cinnamon chip scones

from sally's baking addiction

Ingredients:

SCONES

• 2 cups  all-purpose flour 
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 8 Tablespoons unsalted butter, cold
• 1/2 cup heavy cream (plus a little extra for brushing)
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cups Hershey's cinnamon chips

GLAZE

• 1 cup  powdered sugar
• 3 Tablespoons heavy cream (or black coffee or milk)
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 F degrees. Place oven rack in middle-low position. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Dice the butter into small pieces. 
3. Toss the butter into the flour mixture and combine it with a pastry cutter, clean hands, or two forks until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Set aside.
4. In a small bowl, whisk the cream, egg, and vanilla together. Drizzle it over the flour mixture and toss the mixture together gently until everything appears moistened. Slowly and gently fold in the cinnamon chips. Do not overmix. Dough will be a little wet. 
5. Work the dough into a ball with floured hands  and transfer to the prepared baking pan. Press into a neat disc or rectangle and cut into equal wedges with a very sharp knife. Using a pastry brush or a spoon, brush lightly with a little bit of cream. Separate the scones and line them on the baking sheet with a little space between each one.
6. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until lightly golden and cooked through. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for a few minutes. 
7. While the scones are cooling, make the glaze by whisking the powdered sugar, cream, and vanilla together until completely smooth. Drizzle over scones right before serving.
8. The scones taste best immediately but are still extremely delicious warmed up for 10-20 seconds in the microwave!

creamy zuppa toscana soup.

You are probably wondering why I am posting a soup recipe in the middle of spring. And I know winter is finally over (well, hopefully it's over) but this recipe is too good not to share. I know I will be making this in the summer (we have fans and AC, we'll be just fine!)

I've never had Olive Garden's Zuppa Toscana soup so I'm not even sure if this is what it tastes like. It's awesome nonetheless so you should definitely try this stellar recipe!

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INGREDIENTS:

3 cans (14 oz) chicken broth
2 cups heavy cream (whipping cream, milk, or half&half would probably work too)
1 lb Italian Sausage
½ pound bacon
4 russet potatoes
1 medium onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2½ cups chopped spinach or kale (I used some of each)
salt and pepper (to taste)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Cook and crumble the bacon. Set aside.
2. Cook the sausage in a pot. Once it is cooked through, add broth and spinach/kale.
3. Put lid on the pot and bring sausage, broth, spinch/kale to a boil.
4. Slice potatoes in half and make about ¼ inch slices. You can slice these into fourths making the potatoes more bite sized.
5. In a skillet over medium heat, sautee potatoes, diced onion, and garlic. Sautee until potatoes are tender.
6. Once potatoes are tender/cooked, add potatoes/garlic/onion to the pot of sausage/broth/spinch/kale. Also add the crumbled bacon.
7. Reduce heat and add heavy cream. Don't let mixture boil so it doesn't curdle.
8. Cook until heated through and add salt and pepper to taste.

Recipe Source: http://centslessdeals.com/2013/10/zuppa-toscana-soup.html/

homemade funfetti cake.

I had the honor of making my sister in law's birthday cake last weekend. I heard she liked funfetti cake so I just had to make this version. It was homemade, incredibly moist, and most importantly delicious.

The frosting was also to die for, seriously. It was rich and creamy. It calls for heavy cream which sounds deadly but it's all worth it for the flavor. 

The birthday girl!

Ingredients:

CAKE

• 1 and 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 cup yogurt  (plain or vanilla; or greek yogurt; or sour cream)
• 3/4 cup milk (cow's milk; or soy milk; or almond milk)
• 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
• 2/3 cup sprinkles (not nonpareils)

VANILLA BUTTERCREAM frosting

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 3-4 cups powdered (confectioners') sugar
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 2 and 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F degrees. 

2. Spray a 9-inch springform or baking pan (round or square) with nonstick spray. Set aside.

3. In a medium bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. 

4. In a large microwave-safe bowl, melt butter in the microwave. Whisk in the sugars vigorously getting out any brown sugar lumps - mixture will be gritty. Whisk in egg, yogurt, milk, and vanilla extract until combined. 

5. Slowly mix in dry ingredients until no lumps remain. Batter will be thick. Slowly stir in sprinkles, but do not overmix because the sprinkles will bleed their color.

6. Pour batter into prepared cake pan. Bake for 20 minutes. Cover loosely with aluminum foil (loosely to avoid the top from sticking to the foil). Bake for 13-17 more minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool.

7. To make the frosting, beat softened butter on medium speed with an electric or stand mixer. Beat for 3 minutes until smooth and creamy. Add powdered sugar, cream, and vanilla extract with the mixer running. Increase to high speed and beat for 3 minutes. Add more powdered sugar if frosting is too thin or more cream if mixture is too thick. Add 1/4 teaspoon (or more) if frosting is too sweet. Frost cooled cake as desired and top with sprinkles. There may be leftover frosting depending how much you wish to use.

Recipe from http://sallysbakingaddiction.com/2013/03/19/easy-homemade-funfetti-cake/

light fettuccine alfredo.

This recipe is much lighter than most alfredo sauces. You won't find a whole stick of butter or a whole brick of cream cheese in this recipe (not that there is anything wrong with that!). The small amount of heavy cream, butter, milk, and cream cheese blend together wonderfully to make a thick yet still creamy sauce. The cheese and garlic give it rich flavor. We ate this pasta dish with chicken parmesan the first time and had leftovers with plain cooked chicken. Both times it was delicious!

• Ingredients:
• 
  
• 8 oz. fettuccine pasta, uncooked (I used whole grain linguine)
• 1 1/2 Tbsp butter
• 1 1/2 Tbsp flour
• 1 1/4 cups milk
• 2 Tbsp heavy cream
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp salt, or to taste
• 1/8 - 1/4 tsp garlic powder, to taste
• 1 1/2 oz. freshly, finely shredded Parmesan cheese (1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp slightly packed)
• 2 oz Neufchatel cheese (aka 1/3 less fat cream cheese), diced into cubes
• freshly ground white or black pepper, to taste
• chopped fresh parsley for garnish, optional
• finely shredded Romano cheese for serving, optional 

Directions:

• Cook pasta according to directions listed on package. Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan melt butter over medium heat. Once fully melted mix in flour and cook, whisking constantly for 2 minutes. Gradually add in a little milk at time, whisking vigorously until smooth after each addition. Stir in cream, lemon juice, salt and garlic powder. While stirring constantly to prevent lumps from forming, cook sauce until mixture thickens and begins to gently bubble.
• Reduce heat to low, add in Parmesan cheese and Neufchatel cheese and stir until cheese has melted. Stir in a few tbsp pasta water to thin sauce if desired. Drain cooked pasta well (DO NOT rinse pasta with water or the pasta sauce wont stick) then pour drained pasta into sauce and toss to evenly coat. Serve immediately garnished with ground pepper, optional parsley and Romano cheese.

[adapted from http://www.cookingclassy.com/2012/12/light-fettuccine-alfredo/]

chocolate chip scones.

[adapted from http://lemon-sugar.com/2013/02/chocolate-chip-scones.html/]

Grant and I had my parents over for breakfast on Saturday which I was pumped for because obviously that meant I got to make something (and because I got to see them, of course).  For part of the meal, I decided to make scones because while they are sweet, delicious, and look seemingly dessert-like, they are technically a breakfast food. A seriously happy medium. 

I also made these very late at night because I was picking up my friend from the airport after midnight so I had to do something to keep myself awake! Even though I made these late, I think they turned out pretty awesome.

Some notes about this recipe: I left out salt because I used some salted butter.  I also just cut the butter into small pieces instead of grating it.  I didn't chop the chocolate because I like the chip shape.  I didn't feel like doing step 8 and 9 so I didn't.  Instead I just made my scones random round shapes.  This also gave me more scones, making each one a little healthier...right?  

Ingredients:

2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1/3 cup white sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt 
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 cup very cold unsalted butter
1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips (there's a good chance I used more than that...)
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup (or more) whipping cream or half and half 

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
2.  Prepare a large cookie sheet with parchment paper or silpat mat.
3.  In a large bowl, whisk together dry ingredients.
4.  Using a box grater, grate cold butter completely and add to dry ingredients.
5.  Chop chocolate, and add to dry ingredients. Stir to combine.
6.  In a small bowl, combine eggs, vanilla, and whipping cream. Whisk to combine.
7.  Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and stir until dough comes together.  If    necessary, add more whipping cream a little bit at a time.  Dough shouldn't be too sticky.
8.   Pour dough onto floured surface, and pat into a large square approximately 2/3 inch thick.
9.   Use a pizza cutter to cut into 4 smaller squares, then cut each square diagonally into a triangle for 8 total pieces. 
10. Place on cookie sheet and bake for 12-15 minutes or until just golden brown.
11. Enjoy warm.  Store leftovers in an airtight container.  But seriously, enjoy.  These are the bomb.

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