Cinnamon Scones

  I used to make scones every Sunday for breakfast. That doesn't happen very often anymore, which is too bad because they are delicious and we all like them, but I work every third Sunday and when I don't work I like to sleep a little bit. Scones are a little time consuming, but they are worth the effort! Scones are the British version of biscuits but they are flavored and yummy! They are frequently served with jam or clotted cream, but we eat them plain.

 

Cinnamon Scones

2 c. flour

3 tsp. baking soda

2 Tbsp. sugar

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 c. butter, cold

3/4 c. milk

1 bag cinnamon chips

Mix the dry ingredients together. Cut in the butter until the mixture resembles course crumbs. Add the milk slowly until a soft dough forms. Stir in the cinnamon chips. On a floured surface, form the dough into a thick circle that is about 7 inches across. Cut into wedges (I do 12 wedges, but you can do less if you want) using a pizza cutter or a sharp knife. Bake at 400 degrees for 12-15 minutes or until the edges turn golden brown.

Honey Spice Peaches

This is one of our favorite recipes for peaches. The honey really is amazing and then the spices... so good! I got the boys all helping me skin the peaches after blanching them so they ended up a little more mangled than if I had done them myself, but, hey, they eat them, too!

 

Honey Spice Peaches

8 lbs. freestone peaches

4 c. water

1 c. sugar

2 c. honey

whole cloves

cinnamon sticks

OK, before you start anything else, blanch the peaches. This entails a large pot of boiling water. Add the peaches a few at a time - not so many they are not covered with water. Let them sit in the water for one minutes, then remove and place in an ice water bath (a large bowl full of water and ice). This stops the cooking process - you don't want to cook the peaches, just get the skins off. Let them sit for a minute then you should be able to rub the skin a bit and it comes right off.  Once the skin is off, slice each peach in half and remove the pit. Slice into eighths and set aside. Do this for all the peaches. 

In another large pot, add the water, sugar, and honey. Stir and heat. Once it is hot (does not need to boil), add in some of the peaches. Let them heat, but don't wait until they are cooked. They should heat 2-3 minutes. remove from the syrup with a slotted spoon and pack into prepared** jars. Fill them up almost all the way, then add 3-4 whole cloves and a cinnamon stick. Finish packing to the top. Shake the jar a little to get the peaches to settle. The jars will hold a lot of peaches! Fill the jar with some of the syrup to 1/4 inch from the top, cover with a lid and screw band, and process in a water bath canner for 30 minutes. Repeat until all the peaches have been used to fill the jars (we eat any partial jars).

**Prepared jars means they have been washed and heated. I put mine in the dishwasher to wash, use heated dry, and take them out to use while still hot. Everything needs to be hot - jars, lids, fruit, canner.