Note: These recipes were made and eaten before the New Year's resolutions...

So I've been MIA for a bit--which tends to happen this time of year when you're a teacher--but that doesn't mean that I haven't been cooking.  Quite the opposite!  I have lots of recipes, tips, and personal cooking goals to share with you guys, but I'll take it one at a time!

Recipe 1: Chocolate Chip Scones

I once heard Tom Hanks remark in an interview that a scone was just a disgusting donut. I used to agree, but I have recently come to love the texture and lightly sweet taste of a scone.  They make the perfect breakfast with a hot cup of coffee.  I doubled the recipe since I knew we would be taking some along with us on our cabin trip.

Here's the recipe I used.  I added chocolate chips and the recipe also called for some orange zest, but, alas, we had no oranges...and it was 30 degrees outside, and I wasn't about to hop back in the car.  You can add any type of dried fruit or nuts.  Starbucks makes an orange cranberry scone, which sounds like a delicious combination.

Classic Scones (from joy of cooking):

• 1 3/4 c. all purpose flour
• 2 1/4 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 c. sugar (decrease if you'd like a less sweet scone)
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 c. cold butter
• 2 large eggs
• 1/3 c. heavy cream

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Sift together flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt.  Cut your butter into the dry ingredients.  Beat eggs in small bowl.  Reserve 2 tablespoons of eggs.  Beat cream into the remainder of eggs.  Make a well in the dry ingredients.  Pour in the liquid and combine swiftly.  Turn it out onto a lightly floured board.  Pat to 3/4 in. thick.  Cut into 8-12 wedges or diamonds.  Place on ungreased baking sheet, brush with reserved egg, and sprinkle with sugar.  Bake about 15 minutes or until golden brown.  

Hot Tip: The dough is sticky! When it is time to spread the dough and cut it, make sure you are using plenty of flour.  Also, I covered my pizza cutter in flour and used that to slice the dough...it worked perfectly!

This recipe really brought out the worst in my as far as cooking is concerned.  Some of the scones were a bit odd shaped, and some of them didn't have as many chips as others.  I have a tendency to rush everything along at the end instead of taking my time.  This usually results in a product that tastes delicious, but looks--well, to be completely honest--terrible. 

New Goal: TAKE MY TIME!  I really think I would be amazed at how much better things would look if I followed through on this one aspect of cooking.

Happy cooking!  Let me know what you're whipping up in your kitchen!