Strawberries, lemons & chocolate oh my... and baby news

I've been busily cooking away in my {almost finished} kitchen and wanted to share a super yummy scone recipe with you.  I don't know what it is with me and strawberries & lemons, but I tend to gravitate toward recipes that incorporate both of these wonderful and beautiful ingredients. Maybe it's the color... maybe it's the taste... or maybe it's this time of year when I'm yearning for Spring so much. Whatever the reason... I'm in LOVE with the smell coming from my kitchen right now. I can hardly contain myself. I really, really want to share. 

{little kitchen preview}

Macys has there Strawberries on sale this week and they are DELICIOUS! Run as fast as you can and get your fresh strawberries for this recipe. You won't regret it. 

I know it's kind of funny that I get soooooo excited about food, but remember... I haven't had a kitchen for 6 months and I've got a lot of catching up to do. 

Strawberry Scones with Meyer Lemon

Ingredients:

For the scones:
4 cups flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
2/3 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
Zest of 3 meyer lemons
1 cup cold butter
2 large eggs
1/3 cup meyer lemon juice - about 3 lemons
1/3 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup fresh strawberries, diced

For the Glaze:
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon meyer lemon juice
1 teaspoon milk

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

Zest the lemons and combine with the sugar in a small bowl. Using your fingers, rub the sugar and zest together to combine. This will help release the oils and aroma of the meyer lemons.

Combine the flour, baking powder, sugar (combined with zest), and salt. Cut the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse sand. In a small bowl, whisk the eggs, lemon juice, buttermilk, and vanilla together.

Stir the egg mixture into the flour mixture until the dough is moist, but do not over mix. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead a couple of times until the texture is more uniform and the dry bits have been incorporated.

Roll the dough out into a large circle (or approximate) that is half an inch thick. Sprinkle the chopped strawberries on top, then roll the circle up. Fold the rolled tube into thirds. Then, roll out again into a half inch thick round.

Using a biscuit cutter or a glass, cut out scones that are about 2-3 inches in diameter. Place cut scones on the prepared baking sheets. Continue cutting, re-rolling scraps as needed, until all the dough has been used.

Alternatively, you may divide dough into two equal balls. Pat each ball into an 8 inch circle. Place each ball onto a parchment paper lined or greased cookie sheet. Score each circle with a knife into 6 wedges.

Bake in a 375 degree oven for 15-20 (for cut scones) or 30-40 minutes (for the 8 inch circle), or until done and lightly golden. Allow the scones to cool completely.

Meanwhile, stir powdered sugar, milk, and lemon juice together. Drizzle over cooled scones.

Scones may be frozen for up to a month (un-glazed) in a ziploc freezer bag.

Mexican Hot-Chocolate Cookies

2 1/4 cups flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp coarse salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 3/4 cups sugar, divided
2 eggs
1 cup chocolate chips (not in the original recipe, but I thought they were a worthy addition)
2 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt.
In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter and 1 1/2 cups of the sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Scrape down sides of bowl. Add eggs and beat to combine. With mixer on low, gradually add flour mixture and beat until combined. Add chocolate chips (you will probably have to stir with a wooden spoon at this point).
In a small bowl, combine the remaining 1/4 cup sugar with the 2 tsp cinnamon. Using heaping tablespoons, form balls of dough and roll in cinnamon-sugar mixture. Place about 3 inches apart on parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake until cookies are just set (7-8 minutes), rotating sheets halfway through (the recipe is written to cook for 10 minutes, until the centers begin to crack...around here, we don't like our cookies crispy, soft and chewy for us please. If you prefer a crisp cookie, cook the full ten minutes.). Let cookies cool on sheets on wire racks 5 minutes then transfer cookies to racks to cool completely.

BABY NEWS

Ju Ju and Vinny came for dinner last night and we got to enjoy their company one last time before baby girl Pia and baby boy Gates grace us with their presence. I can tell they are both ready and prepared for the big day today. We are so lucky because we got to keep lil' LeRoy for the night.  Ju left for the hospital early this morning so it made sense to keep little man.  Can I just say...  LeRoy is the cutest thing in the world. I don't know if my kids are gonna let him go home. They've got a new little brother and they're loving it.

**Quick update...
Lindsey had her sweet baby boy Monday morning. Both Linds and babe are doing well.  Ju Ju and Vinny are in the hospital as we speak and they will surely have their babies TODAY!!!!! How fun is that?


Can't wait to meet my new Niece and Nephews! Oh happy day!