Our Friends in the North

Well, actually, a scone recipe from the Hairy Bikers, Si and Dave, who are from the North and seem very friendly to boot. And its got a Canadian theme (sort of) with lots of lovely maple syrup. I'm putting up the recipe as is, but do beware with the liquid quantities - it can all go a bit gooey, so you might want to go a bit careful when it comes to mixing the wet and dry ingredients.

Cup conversions are courtesy of Delia Smith, and this recipe should make you about 12 scones.

300g (2 cups) self-raising flour
100g (1 cup) rolled oats (oatmeal/porridge oats)
100g (approx 2/3 cup) wholemeal flour
50g (1/4 cup) caster sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
160g (aprox 3/4 cup) unsalted butter
100g (1 cup) chopped walnuts
125ml (1/2 cup) buttermilk
150ml (approx 2/3 cup) maple syrup

Preheat oven to gas mark 4 (350F, 180C)
Mix the self-raising flour, wholemeal flour, rolled oats, caster sugar, salt and baking powder in a bowl
Rub the butter into the flour mix until it resembles fine breadcrumbs
Fold in the chopped walnuts
Pour the buttermilk and maple syrup into a separate bowl and mix thoroughly
Slowly add the buttermilk & syrup mix to the dry mix to form a dough
Roll the dough into a log shape and cut into 3cm (1.25") rounds
OR
Roll out the dough onto a floured surface to a depth of 3cm (1.25") and cut out the scones
Place the scones onto a greased baking tray
Bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes, or until risen and golden brown

Eat warm with butter and a nice cup of tea (or coffee)

Enjoy!

Cogs and Cookies!

In celebration of the fact that I finally remembered my password for the blog, we'd like to share a rather lovely cookie recipe with you. It’s taken from the back of a packet of Dove's Farm Organic Spelt Flour, and its quick and tasty (and actually quite Romanesque, what with the honey, cinnamon and spelt). Perfect for dunking (if you like that kind of thing), do enjoy!

Dove's Honey and Cinnamon Cookies

200g wholegrain spelt flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
100g honey (we like Chain Bridge honey 'cos its good to support local suppliers)
100g sunflower oil

Preheat your oven to gas mark 5 (190°C or 375°F)
Place the spelt flour, baking powder, cinnamon, honey and oil all together in a bowl.
Mix until a dough is formed
Place teaspoonfuls of the dough onto an oiled baking tray. Make sure you leave room around each one for it to expand
Bake for 8-12 minutes, until golden brown