Here pig!

A friend of mine used to work in a supermarket bakery. She told me the part of the job that she hated most was putting out samples. Instead of saying over the store intercom, "Attention shoppers, we have samples of our delicious fudge cake back in the bakery. Come try some," she wanted to shout "Soooeeeeeeee, pig, pig!" like a hog farmer putting slop in the trough so all the little piggies would come running.

This thought made me laugh until one day I realized I am one of those little piggies. Unless I'm really hungry, I can pass by the sample tables with no problem, but there is one that's my downfall. At Whole Foods they have amazing little lemon poppyseed scones and the first thing I do when I get there is to see if they have any samples out. If they do I snag one for myself. And two for the kids with me, who then complain that they didn't get theirs. So I send them back to get their own. "And pick up one for me, while you're there," I sing out after them. Oh, oinkie me.

The last time I went to Whole Foods, they had no samples out. None! Perhaps security spotted me getting out of my car in the parking lot and they radioed ahead so the bakery staff could whisk all the samples out of sight. Whatever the reason, I was out of luck in the lemon poppyseed scone department. Denied! A reasonable person, at that point, would probably just purchase a package of the treats to take home. I am not that person. Instead I went home sans scones and did an internet search for lemon poppyseed scones. I found one on Epicurious, I made it, and cured the craving. Ha ha, take that Whole Foods!

The scones, as made per the recipe turned out really big, like Starbucks size scones. I prefer mine dainty, so I'll give you the recipe as I'm going to make it next time. If you want gigantor scones, just divide the whole ball of dough into eight pieces.


Sooeeee Scones
adapted from Epicurious

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup plus 1 Tbsp sugar
3 Tbsp poppy seeds
1 Tbsp baking powder
2 tsp grated lemon rind
1 tsp kosher salt
10 Tbsp chilled unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 large egg
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/3 cup whole milk

1- Preheat oven to 375 deg. F. Position rack in the upper third of the oven.

2- Mix flour, 1 cup sugar, poppy seeds, baking powder, lemon peel, and salt in food processor.

3 - Add butter and ccut in, using short pulses, until mixture resembles coarse meal.

4- Whisk egg and lemon juice in medium bowl to blend. Add this to the flour mixture in the food processor.

5- Process, using short pulses, until moist clumps form.

6 - Add 1/3 cup milk. Use short pulses, just until dough comes together, adding more milk if dough seems dry.

7 - Scrape dough out onto a floured surface. Divide dough into 3 equal parts.

8 - Shape each 1/3 into a ball, then flatten it into a round, about 2 to 3 inches across.

9 - Cut each round into 8 wedges. Transfer wedges to a large baking sheet; brush with milk. Sprinkle the tops with remaining Tbsp sugar. If they seem crowded, use 2 baking sheets, position them in the upper and lower third of the oven, and rotate them top to bottom halfway through cooking. The scones will spread out while baking.

7 - Bake until scones are light golden brown and a tester inserted into center comes out clean. The cook time for 8 large scones is about 25 minutes, so start checking after 15 minutes for little scones.

8 - Transfer scones to a cooling rack.

9 - These can be made a day ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.

Variation: Instead of sprinkling with sugar, try a drizzle of lemon glaze on top.




And now, a little bit of back business. A while ago, the lovely Aimee of Under The Highchair awarded me an E is for Excellence award.


Thanks, Aimee! I can hardly believe that people come here to read my ramblings and I'm blushing to receive this award. I'd like to pass it along to several bloggers who consistently impress me with the quality of their blogs.

Deborah of Taste and Tell, who always dishes up something delicious
Gigi of GigiCakes, who makes delighful and charming things to eat
VeggieGirl for her boundless enthusiasm for all things vegan
The Recipe Girl for her delicious recipes and great outlook
and
LyB of And Then I Do the Dishes, who has had amazing photos and mouthwatering recipes from the start

I enjoy you all so much and am proud to pass on this award to you. Also, be sure to go to Under The Highchair and check out the amazingly beautiful project Aimee's been working on!