Chocolate Chip Scones

Okay, so those don't look like scones. They look like drop biscuits. I used a scone recipe, but they were the last thing on my "to make" list and I got lazy. Very, very lazy. Rather than rolling them out and cutting them into pretty little circles, I did what any good Southern gal does with a bowl of biscuit batter - I dropped them on the baking sheet by the spoonful. I call them "rustic" or "country" - or you can call them lazy. I won't be offended.

I made two batches using the same basic recipe - one "plain" and one chocolate chip. The chocolate chip leftovers were devoured by the guys at work. The others I hoarded and took to work for breakfast along with a little raspberry jam. I am not looking forward to going back to cold cereal next week. I have been thoroughly spoiled. Now, I did use almond milk, so mine were likely a little sweeter than intended, but the milk worked perfectly.

(For those who have made scones before: is the dough supposed to be super sticky? This was my first time, and I wasn't sure what the dough was supposed to be like).

Here is my recipe (taken from... I don't remember):

Basic recipe:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons butter
1 egg, beaten
3/4 cup almond milk

Mix the dry ingredients together in a medium bowl. Cut in the butter until the mixture resembles course crumbs. (I used my hands. It's fun!Stir in the egg. (If you are making the chocolate chip ones, here is where you add 1-1/2" teaspoon and 2/3 cup mini chocolate chips).

Gradually add the milk until a thick dough is formed.

(This next step is the one I skipped)
Turn out the mixture onto a floured board and knead lightly. Roll out the dough to 3/4" thickness and cut into rounds with a 2" cookie cutter. Gather the trimmings and lightly knead, roll, and cut them as well.

Place the rounds about 1" apart on a lightly greased baking sheet. Brush the tops with a little beaten egg or milk. Bake in a preheated 450° oven for about 10 to 15 minutes, until golden brown. Serve warm.

Almond milk chocolate sheet cake

I love chocolate sheet cake! It was one of my favorite desserts as a kid. There's just something about all that chocolate and the unique flavor (maybe it's the vinegar and baking soda) that sets it apart from other cakes. When planning the menu for Sunday's tea party/Pride & Prejudice marathon, I found a recipe for a chocolate sheet cake that uses almond milk. Since milk from a cow sometimes makes me sick and my aunt is lactose intolerant, I thought it was perfect.

I added more cocoa than the recipe called for simply because I got a little carried away. The cinnamon flavor got lost, but I think that's because I did go overboard with the cocoa. This cake smells amazing when you are making it - you boil the butter, milk, and cocoa so it smells like hot chocolate and then you pour that over the sugar/flour/cinnamon mixture and it makes you want to grab a spoon and just dig in (I don't recommend it, though). The cake was a huge hit at the tea party. I brought what was left to work today and it disappeared before I could run out to the car to grab a box of plastic forks! If you see about fifteen guys with chocolate around their mouths, they work for me!

All the food at the tea part went over very well (which makes me happy because I spent all day Saturday baking). I will post pictures and recipes throughout the week.

-- Note, because I wanted to cut the cake in small pieces, I put it in the fridge for a couple of hours once it was done. It will cool very nicely on it's own, but if you want the glaze to harden faster you should chill it. --

Taken from the Silk Pure Almond website, here is the recipe for the chocolate sheet cake.

Ingredients:
Cake
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup butter or margarine
4 tablespoons cocoa
1 1/2 cups Silk Pure Almond Vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vinegar
2 eggs, beaten
Frosting
1/2 cup margarine or butter
4 tablespoons cocoa
6 tablespoons Silk Pure Almond Vanilla
3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup toasted, chopped pecans or walnuts, if desired

Instructions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray or grease a 9x13-inch baking pan. Whisk together flour, sugar and cinnamon in a large bowl; set aside.

In a medium saucepan, melt butter or margarine. Add cocoa and Pure Almond and bring to a rapid boil. Remove from heat and pour over dry ingredients, mixing well. Stir in soda, vinegar and eggs. Mix well and pour into prepared pan. Bake in top rack of oven for 20-25 minutes. While cake is still warm, prick thoroughly with a fork and pour frosting over cake.
I sprinkled mini chocolate chips over the top of the cake before I poured the frosting. They partially melted and added another layer of chocolate yumminess.

To make the frosting:
Melt butter or margarine in a medium saucepan. Add cocoa and Pure Almond and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and add powdered sugar, vanilla and nuts. Keep warm.