TWD: Toasted Almond Scones

Ok, so my 9..almost 10 yr. old boy got an iPod Touch for an early birthday present. I made a rule that he can't download any app or game without asking me first. So now...every 15 minutes he's bugging me about a game or an app that farts at time-set intervals....or a DNA app that tells him he's only 30% related to himself. Don't get me wrong...I have a few games on my iPhone...Angry Birds just MIGHT be one of them...but I might just be re-thinking the rule I made when he got the thing.

Anyways...in between the asking and the farting...I made these scones. Triple the almonds with almond flour, almond extract and well...just almonds. These were a big hit with the younger boy. He doesn't have a huge sweet tooth like the older one and I do. These are perfect for him when he rolls out of bed 15 minutes before he's supposed to be at school. Grab and go...that's what it's all about around here.

Let me just tell you what I did. I toasted some slivered almonds to be used in the dough. I ALSO toasted some almond meal I had lurking in the freezer. I thought the toasting might bring out the flavor a little. Pretty sure it worked. I also upped the almond extract to a little more than 1/4 tsp. Sprinkle the tops with some turbinado sugar and you're good to go!

Ok...just a short post as I'm off to LAS VEGAS for a couple of days for the WPPI trade show. I am also going to meet KARI from RETRO BAKERY! I really can't wait. :) (You might remember how excited I got when my friend Michele brought me back some Retro cupcakes last year here.)

Thanks Mike who is over at LivingOutWest. He has the recipe posted on his page. Or better yet, go buy the book!

Have a look here to see what everyone else came up with.
Thanks for stopping by.

TWD: Chocolate Oatmeal Drops

Let me just start off by saying....I took the easy way out.

I baked these in a 9" square dish and a loaf pan....kinda like really chocolaty oatmeal brownies...with some cinnamon poking through.

After making 80 rolled, cut and decorated sugar cookies and 3 dozen cupcakes over the weekend...I just didn't feel like scooping and baking an cooling any more cookies. So basically, I was being lazy, but I think it worked for me.

I made a full batch of these. Melted the butter, chocolate and brown sugar together with a little water thrown in. Mix in the eggs, one at a time then combine with the flour/cocoa mixture and stir in the oatmeal.


I had no problem with the chocolate and butter separating as some did. My mixture came together and stayed together just fine.

I dumped half into an ungreased 9" square pan and the other half into a loaf pan. I baked them like brownies. Meaning, still soft in the center. I cut them really small because the batter that I ate straight out of the bowl was super rich.

These are like little chocolate oatmeal cakes. I think I expected them to be fudgier with the way the batter was behaving. Pleasantly surprising...perfect when you need some chocolate and you need it right away. These will be in my freezer. :)

A big thanks to both Caroline and Claire from Bake with Us for choosing this week's TWD.

Check out what the other bakers came up with over at the TWD site.

Thanks for stopping by.

TWD: Great Grains Muffins

"Nice job mom, this is one of the best things I ever ate."

So....I guess I'll be making these again.

My youngest wants more dried cranberries...the oldest, less. Either way, they both ate them for breakfast and anytime I can get both of them to like the same thing at 7:00am is a win in my book.

I had no cornmeal in the pantry.....what???.....so I just used additional whole wheat flour in place of the missing ingredient. I used the white whole wheat flour I found at Trader Joes and it seemed to do the trick.

No nuts of course, but dried cranberries. I think next time I'll try fresh blueberries. Actually, I think pretty much anything added in might just do the trick.

Ok, so I'm a day late...sorry about that. But I'm glad I baked these up...they obviously were a hit. So a big thank you to Christine from Happy Tummy. :)

Don't forget to have a look over here for these yummy muffins!