Biscuit Tins, a Bakery And A Recipe

Photo taken from Cottage Journal Magazine

I should be blogging about my wonderful trip to Spokane from which I just returned yesterday but it's late and I'm tired and will do so tomorrow.  But, I did want to share a super easy and delicious recipe I tried today and an article about biscuit tins I read in a magazine on the airplane on my way home.  

I bought a pretty biscuit tin about five years ago from an antique shop in Kingston NH and at first I didn't know what to do with it so it just sat on my desk for a few months.  Remember the saying, "don't own anything that isn't both beautiful (to you) and useful".  So here's what I did with it and I love opening it everyday as it serves its important function.  But first, according to the article I read, when biscuits (British for cookies) came to be in the 1800s, they fell apart easily during travel so a clever biscuit maker by the name of Joseph Huntley began placing his in tins for the traveling shoppers who stopped by his shop near the stagecoach line.  Soon, he formed a company to manufacture tins for biscuits that he had his son manage.  And tins became the rage, manufacturing and competitors increased, they became decorated, colorful, and sought after as people would then use the tins for a myriad of other items when the biscuits were gone.  And you can find these pretty tins often in antique shops and flea markets today.  Here are more examples of the tins from the magazine and then a couple photos of mine.

 

 Makeup!

Now the recipe!  Today I made five kinds of scones for a church meeting.  You know, the one that is held every first Tuesday of the month and I volunteer to bake because I love to!  I made cherry almond, chocolate chip, blueberry cream, coconut, and oatmeal maple.  All delicious!  But the easiest and my favorite was the oatmeal maple.  A couple minutes to make the dough, drop the dough on sheets, bake and glaze.  Easy peasy.  I got the recipe from Flour by Joanne Chang.  I just love her bakeries in Boston.  Oh!  After this recipe, I have to report about a fabulous bakery we just discovered in adorable downtown Kittery ME called Lil's.  I think their baked goods and sandwiches are equal to Flour and their crullers?  Oh my gosh!!!  That's a recipe I would love to have.  

Oatmeal Maple Scones  (adapted from Flour by Joanne Chang)

1 1/2 cups flour

1 1/4 cups old fashioned oats

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup toasted (2 minutes in microwave) pecans pieces or halves

1/2 cups golden raisins (I didn't add these)

Mix these together in a standing mixer with the paddle.  Then add:

1 cold stick of butter cut up in 8 - 10 pieces.  Beat these in until the butter breaks down into pea sized pieces.  

In a bowl mix together 1/3 cup cold heavy cream, 1/3 cup real maple syrup, 1 cold egg.  Add to batter until it just all comes together.  This dough will be wet.  Drop in large mounds (the recipe says 8, I made 14) on parchment lined cookie sheet.  Bake in preheated 350 oven for 20 - 25 minutes.  Mine were done in 20 in a convection oven.  While still warm glaze with this delightful mix - blend well together 1 cup powdered sugar. 3 T real maple syrup, a couple more T of heavy cream.  Enjoy!

Now, Lil's Bakery, downtown Kittery ME.  Everything was good!  Well, the hot chocolate was not hot at all and that was a disappointment but we bought many breakfast items to sample as well as various pastries, sweets, etc.- everything was wonderful INCLUDING the chocolate chip cookies!  Especially the salted CC cookies.  If you live anywhere close, go try this bakery.

           The Crullers!  They have regular (above) and cinnamon crunch - both are amazing!

 The bakery building used to be a bank so there is a huge vault door and inside the vault they sell vinyl records.

To end this post, here is my latest whimsical art project.  I adore the color!  The picture was actually added on by accident and when I try to remove it, the whole post disappears.  I don't know what I did so here it remains.