May 30, 2019

Double Ginger Scones

Posted by HI Cookery under 05 May | Tags: , , , , |
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Double Ginger Scones

May 30: National Scone Day

Highlander’s Mum pronounces “scone” like the word “con” but we say it like “cone”. Either pronunciation is acceptable—and it also depends on the region, according to studies and surveys.

Highlander’s Mum is from Ontario, Canada. Her father (Highlander’s grandfather) emigrated from Scotland, where scones originated. Scone is pronounced like “con” there and in the majority of Great Britain, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Canada. In the Republic of Ireland, Italy and USA, people pronounce scone like “cone”.

Inspired by the double pronunciation of scone, we made double ginger scones for National Scone Day. This recipe has both crystallized ginger and ground ginger as ingredients, which make this scone a spicy sweet treat for teatime.

Now, how do you pronounce scone?

Recipe

(Adapted from Tea Time Magazine)

Ingredients

  • 2 cups flour, all purpose
  • ½ cup sugar, granulated white
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 4 tablespoons (½ stick) butter, cold salted, cut into small pieces
  • 3-5 tablespoons crystallized ginger, chopped finely
  • 1 egg yolk
  • ¾ cup almond milk, unsweetened
  • sliced or slivered almonds

Directions

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar and baking powder, ground ginger and salt. Cut in the cold butter and mix into the flour with a pastry blender until it resembles coarse crumbs.

Blend in three tablespoons of chopped crystallized ginger. In a separate cup, beat the egg yolk with almond milk. Pour in the milk mixture into the flour and blend until smooth, being careful not to overwork the dough. Turn out dough onto a clean, slightly floured surface. Knead four or five times (if too dry, add a little more almond milk mixture; if too wet, add a little more flour).

Roll out to ¼ inch thickness and cut with a 2-inch round fluted cutter, re-rolling the scraps as necessary. Place scones two inches apart on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Top with extra chopped crystallized ginger and almonds. Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes or until golden brown, testing with a toothpick for doneness. Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack. Serve warm.

 Notes

  • We like to get our ginger overload by drinking lemon ginger tea with double ginger scones.
  • Search our blog for other scones recipes.

 

November 21, 2010

Gingy Macs

Posted by HI Cookery under 11 November | Tags: , , , , , |
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Gingerbread Macarons

Gingy Macs

November 21: National Gingerbread Day

Let us shine a spotlight on a spice of the season—ginger—with which we have made a variety of gingerbread recipes, from cookies and cakes to muffins and now macarons. We filled our version of Gingy Macs with basic vanilla buttercream boozed up with cinnamon schnapps! Combined with other condiments, such as nutmeg and cloves, the gingerbread spice blend adds a distinctive fall flavor to these famous French cookies. Gingerbread macarons are our unique take on a blog recipe post for National Gingerbread Day and our monthly entry into the MacAttack challenge.

Recipe

(Adapted from Tartelette)

For the macarons

  • 3 egg whites (fresh, unpasteurized and aged overnight at room temperature)
  • 1 cup almond flour/meal
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
  • ½ cup sugar
  • ¼ cup water
  • yellow food coloring (we used Wilton brand lemon yellow gel icing color)

Directions

Separate the eggs and age the whites at least the night before. Sift the almond flour/meal with the powdered sugar. If necessary, grind them in a food processor in batches to remove any lumps. Stir in the ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. Make a simple syrup to stabilize the egg whites by boiling the sugar and water together until it reaches a temperature of 245 degrees F on a candy thermometer (or until it reaches a soft ball stage).

Gingy Macs

Whip the egg whites until peaks form. Pour the simple syrup into the egg whites while whipping until stiff and glossy. Stir in the dry mixtures and fold until the consistency “flows like magma.” Tint the macaronage with a little yellow food color to create a soft ginger hue.

Gingy Macs

Fill a pastry bag with a large round tip. Pipe one-inch discs on a parchment paper on top of an insulated baking sheet. Let the discs air dry to develop a thin skin for at least 30 minutes. Bake in a preheated oven at 300 degrees F for about 15 minutes. Watch the “feet” develop, but be careful not to brown or burn the macarons. Remove from the oven and let cool for 15 minutes. Peel off the macarons from the parchment paper. Sort by size and match pairs.  Make the filling.

Gingy Macs

For the filling

  • ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
  • pinch of salt
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla
  • 1-2 teaspoons cinnamon schnapps (we used DeKuyper brand Hot Damn Cinnamon Schnapps liqueur)
  • 3-4 cups powdered sugar
  • water

Directions

In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter with a pinch of salt until smooth. Stir in the vanilla and cinnamon schnapps. Gradually add the powdered sugar. Thin to a spreadable consistency with water. Fill a pastry bag with a large round tip. Pipe in the filling and sandwich the macarons together. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to let the filling set. Bring to room temperature before serving.

Gingy Macs

Notes

  • These gingerbread macarons were made by using the Italian meringue method because it stabilizes the egg whites better. This technique has given us more reliable results for macarons made in our kitchen.
  • The medley of the gingerbread ingredients in these macarons is subtly spicy and sweetly speckled but not overpowering—delicious fall flavors are packed into these tiny treats!
  • The cinnamon schnapps gives the filling a slight pink tinge. Use the leftover buttercream as an icing accent for other gingerbread recipes.
  • This is our entry into the MacAttack #13 challenge. See our MacAttack page or search our blog for other macaron posts.
  • The photo prop is of Gingy from the “Shrek” movie series.