Home Alone = Mac & Cheese and Scones

I'm home alone! H. is on an alumni/business trip until Saturday. That means - Kraft macaroni and cheese. That means BRAVO. That means wine. That means baking from the cookbook that I have on loan from a very thoughtful person at work.

First of all - mac and cheese. I can't remember the last time when I made this from the box. Not organic - and not

 homemade (GASP). It was my 9 minute dinner so I could get to baking, a bit of blogging, and knitting while watching TV. 

Before getting the kitchen scale out - I actually started the dishwasher. Something about me - I'm a secret PIGPEN. As soon as H. is out - dishes and clothes stay where they are dropped. So, the fact that I cleaned on the first of 2 solo evenings is a sign of change - or that I was thinking about writing about my night and didn't want it to be a messy memory.

This is a perfect solo night for me. Now - i'm off to finish off some wine and other fun things that I haven't decided yet. What would you do if you didn't have to worry about all the other people in your life for one night?

For my baking adventure, I chose a recipe for Lemon Blueberry Scones for this fine evening based on several factors. First - it will be great for bringing into work tomorrow. Second - it's easy: fast and I already have lemons and blueberries. Third - it's super fast and will leave time to hang out!

Lemon Blueberry Scones

from Baking Illustrated

10 oz (2 cups) unbleached AP flour

2 TBSP baking pwd

3 TBSP bkg sugar

1/2 tsp salt

5 TBSP butter: cold cut into 1/4" cubes

1/2 cup blueberries 

1 tsp lemon zest

1 cup heavy cream

* preheat oven to 425

* using the food processor - mix the dry 

ingredients

* process in the butter and lemon zest

* Stir in heavy cream just until dough forms

* Stir in blueberries

* Shape into circle or flat log and cut into triangles

* Bake for 8-12 minutes

Fresh Blueberries!

For all of you localvores out there - I'm sorry. I couldn't help it - blueberries are here and are not $10 per pint! I was excited to see them at my favorite Lund's grocery and bought a few pints. So, not only did I make some scones to bring into work, I also brought in a few just to snack on. They really were perfect too - not tart, but sweet and almost crisp to the bite.

Enjoy! These are so fast to whip up - and very quick to bake - all in about 30 minutes to fresh warm treats!

note: I used leftover whipped cream for my heavy cream - and reduced the sugar to 1 tbsp. I added a little whole milk to the whipped cream and stirred until almost liquid - it seemed to work. tasted great!

Lemon Blueberry Scones

2 cups (10 oz) unbleached all-purp flour

1 Tbsp baking powder

3 Tbsp sugar

1/2 tsp salt

5 Tbsp cold unsalted butter (1/4" cubes)

1 tsp (or more) grated lemon peel

6 oz (small container) blueberries

1 cup heavy cream

Preheat oven to 425 

place flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in bowl of food processer with metal blade. Process a few times (or whisk). Add butter and lemon peel and process until butter is broken up (about 12 1 second pulses). Transfer mixture to another bowl and gently stir in blueberries. Stir in heavy cream with a rubber spatula until the dough comes together in a rough ball. 

Turn out onto large piece of parchment and knead until it comes together a bit more (sticky/rough ball). Shape into circle or rectangle (see top photo) and cut into wedges. Transfer wedges to parchment lined cookie sheet. Can refridgerate up to 2 hours if dough is too sticky.

Brush tops with heavy cream. Bake until scone tops are light brown 12-15 minutes.

Serve warm.

If you are storing overnight to bring to work - do not store in airtight container. The scones are still releasing heat and moisture - and all will turn mushy if you seal it tight overnight. They are OK left on the countertop or in the container without sealing.