The Anti-Snooze Button

If I could have hot biscuits waiting for me every morning, I might be able to convince myself to get out of bed early enough to enjoy one or two. But since I’d have to be the one doing the creating of said biscuits, well, it just ain’t gonna happen. As I’ve said (a time or twelve), I am not a morning person.

More a morning ogre.

Anyway, I was looking for something not-too-sweet to go with my morning espresso, and I think these fit the bill. Not a lot of sugar (relatively speaking when it comes to traditional gooey type breakfast pastries) and using a bittersweet chocolate (although you can certainly go for a semi-sweet if you need that extra boost of sweetness) really put these just on the edge of savory and sweet.

Of course, feel free to douse them in a vanilla glaze if that’s the way you roll.

Vanilla sugar is, of course, optional here. It did add a nice extra ‘note’, though. You can substitute regular sugar or brown sugar, add nuts, etc. Go crazy. You may see these again later in a totally savory rendition.

Chocolate Morning Biscuits

2 cups flour
1Tbs sugar
1 Tbs baking powder
½ tsp salt
5 Tbs cold, unsalted butter, cut into pieces
¾ cup half & half
3 Tbs unsalted butter, softened
3 Tbs - ¼ cup vanilla sugar
4 oz good quality bittersweet chocolate, cut into small chunks

Preheat oven to 350º. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt until well blended. With a pastry cutter (you can also use a couple of knives in a pinch), cut in the butter until the mixture is crumbly but pea-sized pieces of butter still remain. Pour in half & half and stir until mixture is combined. Turn out onto floured surface and knead just until mixture comes together. Using a rolling pin, roll into a 13” x 11” rectangle.

Spread softened butter evenly over dough, then sprinkle vanilla sugar and chocolate chunks evenly over entire surface. Beginning with one long side, roll up jellyroll style and pinch loose edges when finished. Push in both ends to even up edges.

Using a sharp knife, cut into 12 equal portions and place cut side up on a baking sheet, about 2” apart.

(option: You can brush the tops with a mixture of egg and milk, then sprinkle with sugar if desired. I left this out.)

Bake until puffed and golden brown, about 18 minutes. Best served warm.

A Little Chocolate Love in the Morning

I am not a morning person. Ask anyone who knows me at all. They would probably also tell you that I’m not always very pleasant-tempered before my morning espresso. I’m not saying it’s a particularly charming aspect of my personality.

I am also not a breakfast person. Perhaps those two facts are connected…

Anyway, my theory on breakfast is that its purpose is to provide some buffer between my stomach lining and the quad espresso I’ve just tossed down my gullet.

But saying that kind of discounts how yummy these scones were. And they were just as good two days later for breakfast (although next time I won’t glaze all of them right away so I can reheat - because they’re just awfully good warm).

These would be a really nice Valentine’s Day breakfast surprise along with some strawberries and a mimosa.

I mean for you. Not for me.

Chocolate Scones with Vanilla Bean Glaze


2/3 cup heavy cream
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 tsp (4 grams) pure vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup sugar
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chunks or chips

1 large egg
1 Tbs heavy cream

Glaze:

1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped into a bowl
1 cup (approximately) powdered sugar
4 tsp (approximately) heavy cream

Preheat the oven to 375˚ and place rack in center of oven.

In a small bowl whisk together the whipping cream, egg, and vanilla extract. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder and salt. Using a pastry blender or two knives, cut the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in the chocolate chunks (chips). Add the cream mixture and stir just until the dough comes together (add more cream and/or flour as necessary).

Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead a few times. Shape the dough into an 8 inch circle. Cut into pie-shaped wedges (about 12). Brush excess flour from the bottom of the scones, and place them on a baking sheet. Make an egg wash of one well-beaten egg mixed with 1 Tbs cream and brush the tops of the scones with this mixture.

Bake for about 15 minutes or until they are firm around the edges but a bit soft in the center. A toothpick inserted into the center of a scone will come out clean. Cool on a wire rack.

In the meantime, prepare glaze. Add powdered sugar to a bowl with the scraped vanilla bean. Mix in cream, 1 tsp at a time until you have a glaze that is thick (about the consistency of maple syrup). Drizzle glaze over scones or pour glaze into a plastic sandwich bag, cut a small corner out of it, and ‘pipe’ over the scones).

Makes about 12.

Another Quickie

Today I was thinking about my girls and what beautiful young ladies they’ve become. That in turn got me to thinking about childhood and the kinds of foods that kids like to eat. My nieces, who are still little, enjoy those little breakfast in a pastry type things. And so I thought I’d put one together for Offspring #2 before she ran out the door for the evening. I opted for one large pastry, but these could certainly be cut down to more portable versions.

Breakfast Sausage Pastry

½ lb. breakfast sausage
3 eggs
2 T. fresh chopped chives
¼ c. finely chopped red bell pepper (I forgot to add this, so you won’t see it in the photo)
¼ c. half and half
Salt and Pepper to taste

Thinly sliced cheese (I used a Muenster, I think)
1 sheet thawed puff pastry dough

Heat oven to 375 º. Brown sausage on stove. Meanwhile, beat eggs with cream. Add chives and season to taste. Add bell peppers to cooked sausage and sauté until softened. Pour off any excess grease and then add egg mixture to pan. Cook and stir until eggs are cooked but still moist. Remove from heat.

Place puff pastry sheet on a lightly floured surface and roll out slightly. Place slices of cheese across the middle and then add the sausage/egg mixture on top, keeping enough room around the edges for folding the dough. Using a bit of the egg mixture, or another slightly beaten egg, ‘glue’ the edges together and pinch or fold under. Lightly grease a cookie sheet and set the pastry on top. Brush with more egg mixture. Bake for 25 - 30 mins, or until the pastry is golden brown. I made a sauce using a bit of sour cream, some Dijon mustard and black pepper and also sprinkled the top of the pastry with a bit of additional sea salt.