Chocolate Orange Scones

You know what's weird? Writing a sequel. It's like writing fanfiction, but of your own work. It's been so long since I wrote the original that it feels like it was written by someone else. I have to stop myself from putting a disclaimer at the beginning of each chapter. All recognizable settings and characters belong to their original author. The story and any original characters are my own. I make no money from the writing of this fic.

Which is all true, if you think about it. The settings and characters do belong to their original author (me), and I actually do not make any money from writing it. Because, you know, it's unpublished and everything.

And it's easy, for all the reasons fanfiction is easy-- I'm already intimately familiar with the characters and the world, and I can assume that anyone reading it would be as well, so I can skip over all of those explain-y bits.

And it's hard for all the reasons that fanfiction is hard-- because the characters and world have already been established, I have to stay within those parameters. If I want to show character development, I have to show it in a way that doesn't seem OOC (out of character). If I want to introduce a new element, I have to make sure that it doesn't break some rule that's already been set.

This is one of the things that people don't tell you, but it's yet another reason that I think writing fanfiction is one of the best ways to learn how to write. I still insist that it's how I learned to write.

(Psst, I added a wordcount widget at the top left of the page, so you can track my progress and yell at me if I get behind. As of Tuesday, I was 900 words ahead. Booya.)

You know what else is weird? Apparently, when I have insomnia, I bake scones. These were no exception. At 4:30 in the morning, I decided I would make chocolate orange scones. And I did. Buttery, crumbly, chocolatey scones, not too sweet, with a hint of orange zest. The whole wheat flour makes them nice and hearty, good for a filling breakfast. This is not a dessert for breakfast scone, at all. But it is a tasty, chocolatey breakfast treat.

Chocolate Orange Scones
Yield: 8 scones

Ingredients
1¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
⅔ cup packed dark brown sugar
½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
¾ cup cold unsalted butter
4-5 tbsp. milk
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp. orange zest
½ tsp. vanilla extract

For the topping:
1 tbsp. milk
2 tbsp. raw sugar
¼ tsp. orange zest

Directions
Preheat the oven to 375°F. In a large mixing bowl, mix the flours, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Cut in the cold butter using a pastry cutter or rubbing it in with your fingertips, until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in 4 tbsp. milk, eggs, orange zest, and vanilla with a wooden spoon until the dough comes together. If the dough seems too dry, add the extra tbsp. milk.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead gently about 10 times. On a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or a silpat mat, shape the dough into a flat, 8 inch round. With a sharp knife dipped in flour, cut the round into 8 wedges, but do not separate. Brush the tops with 1 tbsp. milk. Mix together the raw sugar and orange zest, and sprinkle that evenly on top.

Bake for 18-20 minutes, until the edges are set and the middle is slightly soft.  Remove the scones from the cookie sheet and place on a wire cooling rack, carefully separating them. Best served warm.

Recipe by Kim

Bad Wolf Cupcakes

Chocolate Orange Cupcakes with Rosewater Buttercream

I'm going to be a little more serious for the moment. I want to talk to you about the reason why I love Doctor Who-- and other things like it-- enough to do this series.

Doctor Who and science fiction and fantasy, they're escapes. And a common theme with all of these stories is the ordinary person facing extraordinary circumstances and emerging victorious. These characters deal with things we could never even dream of, maybe they've got abilities or powers we don't, but there is always something so very human and relatable about them.

And even in the characters who aren't, even in the Doctor or Aslan or Gandalf, there's always going to be that belief that they are out there, that no matter how bad things get, they are out there saving us from something bigger and something worse. And there is always the dream, no matter how childish it might seem, that one day you're going to find Narnia in your wardrobe, or Gandalf is going to knock at your door, or the Doctor is going to grab your hand, look at you with a wink and that rakish grin, and say, "Allons-y!"

I don't know about you, but that keeps me going when things get too bad.

In Doctor Who, the Doctor always travels with a companion. This companion serves as a plot device for the Doctor to explain everything to, but it's also the character that we as the viewers identify with and want to become. And while the Doctor could very well travel with the most extraordinary people in the universe, he never does. He'll travel with a girl that works in a shop. Or a temp who's mother doesn't think she's worth anything. Or a med student, or a journalist, or a governess. The most ordinary people, living the most ordinary lives, but once they meet the Doctor, they do the most extraordinary things.

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Amy taught me to never let anything get between me and the people I love.

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Rory taught me that sometimes the bravest thing you can do is stand beside the one you love.

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Donna taught me that anyone could be the most important person in the universe, without ever even realizing it.

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Martha taught me to never settle for being the sidekick. If the hero is out of commission, you pick that sh** up, and you keep going.

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Sarah Jane taught me that a broken heart doesn't mean your life is over.

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And Rose Tyler taught me to never let anything get in my way, even if I have to tear down the walls of the universe and bend the laws of time and space to my will.

You see, the Doctor sent Rose back to her own time with the Tardis to protect her. He couldn't see a way out. But Rose had none of that. She cracked open the Tardis, she absorbed the time vortex, and for a few moments she controlled all of time and space. And what did she do with that power? She used it to save her world's future and the man that she loved, even though it nearly cost her her own life.

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And in that moment, Rose scattered the message "Bad Wolf" throughout time and space, a message to herself so that she would know she could get back to him.

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Why bad wolf? The Doctor was fighting the daleks on Satellite Five when he sent Rose away in the Tardis, which was owned by Bad Wolf Corporation. The Doctor and Rose also said their goodbyes at Bad Wolf Bay.

But that wasn't the end of it. When the daleks threatened to destroy the universe, Rose, who was stuck in another universe, built a freaking reality cannon and found her way back to save the Doctor once more.

Rose is also remarkable as a companion in that when she met the Doctor, the 9th Doctor, he wasn't the warm, silly madman we know now, but cold and distant, torn apart by what he had to do to end the Time War and save the universe. Rose accepted him unconditionally, she fell in love with him, and in the end, in the very end, the 9th Doctor gave up being a soldier. He gave up the ideas of strategic advantages and acceptable losses, and in the end, he died to save her life.

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So whenever someone tells me that they didn't like Rose, I tell them it doesn't matter what they think. Because the Doctor truly loved her, and she loved and healed him.

When I found a bottle of rosewater at Home Goods, it seemed like fate. I would make cupcakes for Rose. I made a simple, moist chocolate cupcake, inspired by a chocolate pound cake, and a simple buttercream. But then, with the two simple additions of orange zest and rosewater, these cupcakes became something extraordinary. Just like Rose is just a normal, everyday girl that works in a shop, but when she meets the Doctor, she becomes the defender of the Earth.

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D'you like my gun? Heh, I loved that scene. 

Anyway, these cupcakes are a mild chocolate cupcake, which really allows the orange flavor to shine. The addition of dark brown sugar makes them rich and moist, without being overly sweet. And the rosewater in the super silky buttercream really complements the citrus flavors well. The rosewater flavor isn't strong (too much can make it taste perfume-y), but there's that definite hint of the exotic and fancy. And these cupcakes smell, well... hit it, 9!

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And it's been confirmed that Rose is coming back for the 50th anniversary special, which explains why the words "Bad Wolf" keep showing up on my cupcakes.

Oh, you thought I put it there? You silly normals, you haven't listened to a word I've said, have you? Rose scattered the words through time and space in order to lead herself back. Including on cupcakes, duh.


Chocolate Orange Cupcakes With Rosewater Buttercream {Printable Version}
Yield: 30 cupcakes

Ingredients
For the cupcakes:
3 cups all-purpose flour
½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder*
1 tsp. baking powder
¾ tsp. salt
1 ½ cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 cups white sugar
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
½ tsp. orange zest
1 cup milk


For the frosting:
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
3 cups powdered sugar
½ cup whipping cream
½ tsp. vanilla extract
1/8 tsp. rosewater


Directions
Preheat the oven to 365°F. In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer beat the butter and sugars at medium speed until fluffy. Add the eggs, vanilla, and zest, beating well after each addition. With the mixer on low speed, gradually add the flour mixture, alternating with the milk, until fully incorporated and smooth.

Line a muffin tin with paper liners. Fill about ¾ of the way with batter. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the tops spring back when lightly pressed. Cool completely on wire racks.

For the frosting: Using electric beaters, beat the butter on medium speed. Gradually add in the powdered sugar. When the sugar has been added, reduce the speed to low. Add in the cream, vanilla, and rosewater, beating until just incorporated. Increase the speed to high and whip until smooth and fluffy.

*I used ¼ cup regular and ¼ Hershey’s Special Dark Cocoa.

Recipe by Kim

Sfogliatelle Scones

So, the insomnia monster hit me yesterday, and I was completely out of sorts. I kept forgetting 1) that it was already April, 2) that they'd moved the first session of Camp NaNoWriMo to April, 3) that I wanted to change up my updating schedule because of my Doctor Who series, and 4) that today was Tuesday, one of the days I had pegged for updating.

I also misspelled study as "studay" about 4 times in a row. Insomnia monster does funny things to my cognitive function.

So that's why this is getting posted a little later than usual. But it's a day earlier than usual, so I get a pass, right? Right.

The first time I made these scones, my momma insisted that they tasted like sfogliatelle (Pronouned sfwi-a-delle or sfoy-a-delle, depending on where you're from. I pronounce it the first way), which is one of her favorite pastries in the world. Sfogliatelle are these super flaky pastries, with with an orange-ricotta filling.

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The combination of the orange zest, almond meal, and ricotta in these scones give them their sfogliatelle flavor, but the addition of oats makes them okay to eat for breakfast. I consider that a win.

So does my momma.

Sfogliatelle Scones {Printable Version}
Yield: 12 scones

Ingredients
2¼ cups all-purpose flour
¾ cup almond meal*
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. salt
¾ cup cold butter, diced
½ cup ricotta
1/3 cup buttermilk
1 egg
1 tsp. orange zest
½ tsp. vanilla extract
¼ tsp. almond extract
2 cups uncooked quick or old-fashioned oats**
2 tbsp. milk or cream
¼ cup sugar
½ tsp. orange zest

Directions
Preheat the oven to 425°F. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, almond meal, sugar, baking soda, and salt. Cut in the butter with a pastry blender (or rub it in with your fingertips) until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. In a separate bowl, mix together the ricotta, buttermilk, egg, zest, and extracts. Add the wet ingredients and the oats to the flour mixture, and mix until the dough comes together (it will be slightly sticky). Turn out the dough on to a lightly floured surface and knead gently about 10 times. On a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or a silpat mat, shape the dough into 2 even 6-inch rounds. Using a sharp knife, cut each round into 6 wedges, but do not separate them. Brush the tops with milk or cream. Mix together the ¼ cup sugar and ½ tsp. zest, and sprinkle evenly over the scones. Bake 15-20 minutes, until the tops and edges are golden brown. Remove the scones from the cookie sheet and place on a wire cooling rack, carefully separating them. Best served warm.

*Or use 3 cups all-purpose flour

**I used quick oats. Old-fashioned oats will add a more distinctive texture.

Recipe by Kim

Cannoli Cream Icebox Cake

Benedict Cumberbatch did not win a Golden Globe. >_<

No, I am not over it yet. I will never be over it. Because I believe in Sherlock Holmes.

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Oh, the trials and tribulations of being a fangirl. And they still haven't started filming the third series, but I heard a rumor about March.

So after the epic let down of Benedict not winning a Golden Globe-- which he totally deserved, Hollywood Foreign Press. Have you even seen The Reichenbach Fall?-- I needed the comfort of icebox cake. Because icebox cake is the ultimate comfort food. The texture of the softened graham crackers, and the real cream, and the thousand different flavors you can incorporate makes it perfect to soothe you when awards shows make mistakes. *grumble*

I decided to do a cannoli icebox cake, because I had all the ingredients on hand, and it sounded like a good idea at the time. I just adapted my Pumpkin Pie Icebox Cake recipe, and like in that recipe, the cream is very light in flavor and texture. I thought about just slathering cannoli cream in between the graham crackers, but I like the whipped texture, and it's covering the graininess that ricotta can give the cream

I also put regular chocolate chips in the cream instead of listening to my instincts and using minis, which made the layering a little more difficult than is should. The cream layers were so thick that the cake ended up being a little unstable. Hahaha, whoops. Still, it tasted good. And my cannoli-loving family gave it their seal of approval

So, Benedict, if you're still smarting from Sunday, here's a recipe that'll make you feel better. And if you don't want to make it, you can always come over so I can give you a slice. But only if you tell me how Sherlock survives. Deal?

Cannoli Cream Icebox Cake {Printable Version}

Yield: 8-10 servings

Ingredients
1 cup boiling water
½ cup plus 2 tbsp. sugar
1 tbsp. (1 packet) unflavored gelatin
1½ cups ricotta cheese
½ cup (4oz.) cream cheese, at room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. orange zest
¼ tsp. almond extract
1 cup whipping cream, chilled
1 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
Approx. 1 box graham crackers*
Crushed ice cream cones and candied citrus peel for decorating (optional)

Directions
Prepare the filling: whisk the boiling water, ½ cup sugar, and gelatin together until the sugar and gelatin are completely dissolved. Set aside. With an electric beater, beat the ricotta, cream cheese, zest, vanilla and almond extract together at medium speed until smooth and fluffy. Reduce the speed to low and carefully stream in the gelatin mixture. Beat until completely mixed, cover, and refrigerate for 1-2 hours, until thickened. Meanwhile, whip the cream and remaining 2 tbsp. sugar at high speed until soft peaks form. Carefully fold the whipped cream and chocolate chips thickened ricotta mixture.

Assemble the cake: line a loaf pan with plastic wrap. Spread the filling evenly in the bottom of the loaf pan, about ¼ inch thick. Place a row of graham crackers on top, filling as much space as possible. Top with another layer of graham crackers and spread with filling. Repeat until the top of the loaf pan is reached, ending with the filling. Refrigerate 8 hours or overnight.

To serve: invert the loaf pan over a serving dish to release the cake (it should pop right out). Frost the
sides with the remaining filling. If desired, top with crushed ice cream cones and candied citrus peel.
Serve chilled.

Tip: You can also make a freeform cake. Just line the serving dish with graham crackers and layer from there.

*Almond cookies would also work well

Recipe by Kim

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I could stare at that gif all day long. I think I have a problem...

This recipe is featured on Foodie Friends Friday Linky Party

Drunken Apple Pie

Me and pie, we have some issues. Well, not so much pie, as pie crust. I can't make it. I've got this mental block. I mean I make it, but then it won't roll out because it's hard, or I roll it out and it sticks to everything, or I don't roll it out thin enough, or I can't get it to roll out in a circle, and it's too long one way and too short the other, or I'm incompetent and can't manage to get it in the tin right.

And then I'll be watching a show on the cooking channel about pie and they'll be all, oh, it's so easy to make your own crust. And then when you roll it out, you just wrap it on the rolling pin and just drape it over the tin. And I'm like, that does sound easy, Kelsey. Thanks! And then I try it and it's an epic fail and I'm reduced to tears, sobbing over the mess that I was sure this time was going to be a beautifully flaky pie crust.

But you guys see that excessively ugly pie up there? Do you see it? Do you know why it's so ugly? Because I made pie crust! Successfully. Cut in cold butter, sprinkled ice cold water, rolled out with a rolling pin, crimped the edges and everything.

And of course, it had vodka in it.

Yes, you read that right. See, I was looking through the Dash magazine that comes in the Sunday paper, and they were giving Thanksgiving tips, and the last one was all, pie crust is so finicky. So they were all, we swear by this recipe and vodka is the magic ingredient! And it worked.

So I had my vodka pie crust, what should I put in it? My brother says, "How about drunken apples?"

Genius runs in the family.

And then my father wanted raisins in it, but I could only find one little box of raisins, so I decided to make mini pies. I put raisins in one, toffee bits in the other, and kept the third plain apple. This is the raisin one. Can you see the R that I carved in the crust?

And believe it or not, this is the best looking of the three pies. Well, in the tin, the plain apple one looked better, but when I took it out, well...

Dammit man, keep it together!

My drunken apples imbibed a little too heavily there. Or it could have been baked longer. Heh.

...What's that? You want to see the one with the toffee bits? No, you don't. No, you really, really don't. It looks like something out of a cheesy horror movie about baked goods.

...Okay, but don't say I didn't warn you.

AIEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Quick, get out of here! The vodka crust will only hold it back for so long. Save yourselves!

Got the patchwork top crust holding back something lurking in the depths of the apple pie filling. It looks like it's going to explode any minute now.

Yeah, this one's looking better and better, huh?

 Of course, who really cares what the outside looks like? Like any dessert, it's what's on the inside that counts.

Mmm, boozey apples....

Spiced Piecrust {Printable Version}

Yield: 2 piecrusts

Ingredients
2 cups flour
2 tbsp. sugar
2 tsp. apple pie spice
1 tsp. salt
½ cup unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small chunks
4 tbsp. solid white vegetable shortening (Crisco), chilled and cut into small chunks
2 tbsp. vodka
Approx. ¼ cup ice cold water

Directions
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, spices, and salt. Using a pastry cutter, cut in the butter and shortening until the mixture looks like wet sand, and there are no pieces bigger than small peas. With a fork, mix in the vodka and just enough of the water that the dough comes together and is slightly tacky. Divide the dough in half, flatten each half into disks, wrap separately in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for a minimum of 45 minutes, or up to two days. Roll out as desired on a well-floured surface.

Tip: Whenever you have to handle the dough, make sure to only use the tips of your fingers. This is the coolest part of your hand, and will help keep the butter from melting.

Recipe adapted from Dash Magazine

Drunken Apple Pie {Printable Version}

Yield: 3 mini deep dish pies (or 1 regular 9 inch pie)

Ingredients
6-7 apples peeled and chopped into ½ inch pieces (approximately 6 cups)
Juice of 1 orange
¼ cup flour
2 tbsp. rum
2 tbsp. brown sugar*
1 tbsp. cornstarch
1 tsp. apple pie spice
¼ tsp. vanilla extract
1 recipe Spiced Piecrust
Raisins, toffee bits, or dried cranberries, if desired, 1-2 oz. per mini pie
Water, for brushing, and cinnamon sugar, or 1 egg beaten with 1 tsp. water

Directions
Preheat the oven to 425°F. Toss the apples with the orange juice immediately after chopping to prevent browning. In a large mixing bowl, mix the apples with the flour, rum, sugar, cornstarch, spices, and vanilla, making sure the apples are well coated. If desired, add mix-ins, such as raisins. You can also divide the filling into 3 equal parts first and add a different mix-in to each.

Roll out the piecrust on a well-floured surface to approx. ¼ inch thickness. Cut 3 circles about 2-3 inches larger than the lip of the mini pie tins for the bottom crusts. For the top crusts, cut 3 circles about ½ an inch larger than the lip of the pie tins. Line the tins with the bottom crusts, and divide the filling equally between them. Place the top crusts over the filling and seal the two crusts together, pinching them with your fingers, or pressing the edges together with a fork dipped in flour.

Brush the tops of each pie with water and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar, or brush each with the egg
wash. Score the tops with a sharp knife, place on a rimmed baking sheet, and bake for 30-35 minutes,
until the filling is bubbling, and the crust is golden brown.

*Depending on how sweet your apples are, this amount may need to be adjusted.

Recipe by Kim

Gluten Free Orange Rosemary Ricotta Cookies

So, my car's in the midst of it's death throes. It's really not unexpected, but it's sad. My car's old enough to be getting it's own driver's license, if you know what I'm saying. In some states, it would have already had it for a year. But just the provisional license, of course. It's not old enough for a full license. And I've found that I not only know absolutely nothing about cars, but can be swayed by the cute and the pretty.

Case in point, I found this adorable yellow car for well under my max price point, with just under 60k miles (for what I can spend, that's generally the best I can find) and I fell in love. I decided that I would name it Bumblebee and pretend that it's really just a sentient alien rather than a car and play the Transformers theme song all the time and we'd go on adventures, and I'd always be happy when driving, because really how can you not be happy driving a yellow car? Turns out this car has an engine that pretty much craps out at 60k miles and is pretty cheaply made. But a part of me still wants it because it was adorable. And yellow. So now my family is helping me look because they're all secretly afraid that I will just buy the cutest car that I can find, regardless of how good it is.

I'm not really bothered. Car shopping might not be my thing, but I can out-bake any one of them.