Raspberry Oat Scones

July: National Raspberry Month

When raspberries are in season, we love the bright fruits at their peak of sweetness. We eat them throughout the year, though, whether in a simple Scottish dessert, chranachan, for Burns Night, Scottish gatherings and our summertime suppers. To change up our tastes a bit, we use raspberries in Scottish oat scones, too, for breakfast, brunch or afternoon tea (and still eat chranachan for dessert!). Too much raspberries is a good thing and we enjoy indulging in raspberry oat scones during National Raspberry Month.

Recipe

(Adapted from Good Housekeeping)

Ingredients

  • 1 ½ cups old-fashioned (rolled) oats, divided use (reserve more for the topping)
  • 2 cups flour, all-purpose
  • ½ cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ cup (1 stick) butter, unsalted
  • ¼ cup crystallized ginger, diced small
  • 1 lemon, zested
  • ¾ cup fresh raspberries
  • ¾ cup buttermilk

Directions

In a food processor, pulse one cup of oats until finely ground. Pour the ground oats into a large mixing bowl with the flour, sugar, baking soda and baking powder.

Grate the cold or frozen butter into the dry ingredients. Mix until it resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in the ginger and lemon zest. Lightly toss in the raspberries, being careful not to burst the juices too much. 

Add in the remaining ½ cup oats. Gradually mix in the buttermilk. Blend to form a dough but avoid overmixing. Transfer dough to a clean, floured surface. Shape into a ½-inch thick rectangle.

Cut diagonally then straight to form triangles. Place at least 2-inches apart on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Top each scone with additional sprinkles of oats. Bake in a preheated oven at 400 degrees F for 25-30 minutes or until browned. Remove from the oven and cool on wire racks. Serve with butter or clotted cream.

Notes

  • Instead of a long rectangle shape to cut triangle scones, make a ½-inch thick round and cut into wedges. 
  • Search our blog for more recipes containing raspberries.

Chranachan

Chranachan

July: National Berry Month

July is National Berry Month—an appropriate time to have raspberries in a recipe from Highlander’s heritage—chranachan. Similar to an English trifle because of the layered look, chranachan is a summery Scottish dessert that uses raspberries. Other ingredients include heather honey, Scotch whisky, oats and whipped cream. Serve up something simple and sweet to beat the summer heat—cool off with a cup of chranachan!

Recipe

(Adapted from BBC Food Recipes)

Ingredients

  • 1/3 cup oats (preferably steel cut/pinhead)
  • 2 cups heavy whipping cream
  • 1-2 tablespoons Scotch whisky
  • 3 tablespoons honey (heather or organic)
  • 2 cups fresh raspberries

Directions

In a small pan, toast the oats by mixing over medium-high heat, being careful not to burn them. Set aside and cool. In a large mixing bowl, whip the cream to soft peaks.

Chranachan

Fold in the whisky, honey, toasted oats and raspberries. Scoop into dessert glasses. Garnish with extra toasted oats and a few raspberries (optional). Serve chilled.

Chranachan

Notes

  • Chranachan is derived from Scottish Gaelic: Crannachan.
  • Traditionally, chranachan ingredients (whipped cream mixed with whisky and honey, toasted oats and fresh raspberries) are placed in individual dishes and laid out on the table buffet style so diners can layer their own dessert into their dishes according to their tastes.
  • Any good quality “runny honey” (not crystalized) may be used for this recipe.
  • Toasted oats add texture while raspberries add tartness to this dish.
  • Variations of this recipe include soaking the toasted oats in whisky overnight then mixing it into the whipped cream and pureeing or mashing the raspberries instead of adding the whole fruit.
  • Islander especially loves iced chranachan made with lactose-free vanilla ice cream as a substitute for the whipped cream.

Chambord Macarons

(Raspberry Liqueur Macarons

with Raspberry Jam Filling)

Chambord Macarons

October 16: National Liqueur Day

“Pinkarons” for October’s MacTweets

Our Chambord macarons are a treat

Filled with raspberry jam so sweet

Pink and pretty enough to eat

Pray that breast cancer can be beat!!!

Chambord Macarons

A look into our liqueur cabinet might give the impression that we are lushes. But we bake with booze more often than we drink it—honest!  We have an assortment of alcohol on our shelves, but it is the raspberry liqueur in a little ball-shaped bottle that was our most pricey purchase. So we use the spirit sparingly—and splurge only to make special occasion foods. Packaged in a pretty orb, Chambord is the luxurious ingredient that we use to bake into brownies, cakes and now macarons.  It is worth using raspberry liqueur in a recipe for “pinkarons” to observe both Breast Cancer Awareness Month and National Liqueur Day.

Chambord Macarons

Recipe

For the Chambord (raspberry liqueur) macaron shells (Italian meringue method)

  • 1 cup almond flour/meal
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 3 egg whites (fresh, unpasteurized and aged overnight at room temperature)
  • 1 cup sugar, granulated white
  • ½ cup water
  • red or pink food coloring
  • 1 tablespoon Chambord (raspberry liqueur)

Directions

Sift the almond flour/meal with the powdered sugar. Grind in a food processor in batches to remove any lumps (optional). Whip the egg whites until peaks form. 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). Pour into the egg whites and whip again until stiff and glossy.

Chambord Macarons

Mix in the Chambord (raspberry liqueur). Fold in the almond flour/meal-sugar mix until the consistency “flows like magma.” Tint the macaronage with red or pink food coloring until a desired shade of “light raspberry pink” color is reached. Pipe one-inch discs on a parchment paper on top of an insulated baking sheet.

Chambord Macarons

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 15-20 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.

Chambord Macarons

Spread raspberry jam as a filling (we used Smucker’s brand seedless red raspberry jam). Serve immediately as the jam softens the shells.

Chambord Macarons

Notes