Maple Walnut Scones

I promised to share the recipe for maple-walnut scones from my tea party earlier this week, but I just realized that I don't have to!

 

I just followed a recipe from a fall TeaTime Magazine from a couple of years ago.  I checked their website today, and they are sharing that recipe here.  I've made this twice--the first time I didn't use glazed walnuts, but I think it makes a huge difference if you do.  I just threw some Emerald's glazed walnuts in my chopper, and they were ready to go.  

 

I will be taking a little blogging break the rest of this week, but I will be back on Monday (hopefully--at the very least I will definitely be back Tuesday!).

Fall cottages & tea

Hello everyone!  I can't believe it is already the second Monday in November!  Soon it will be time for Christmas posts (my favorite time of the year), but not quite yet.  First, I have a  fall tea that I have been really looking forward to sharing with everyone.

These dark days of autumn rain,

Are beautiful as days can be;

She loves the bare, the withered tree;
   She walks the sodden pasture lane. 

Not yesterday I learned to know,

the love of bare November days
Before the coming of the snow,

And they are better for her praise.

~Selections (slightly rearranged) from My November Guest by Robert Frost       

 



 I finally got out on my deck again!  Of course, the trees have almost lost their leaves, but you can still get the idea.  I've been saving my cottage set for fall because I think colors are perfect, down to the leaves changing color over the cottage door.

This set was my grandmother's (my dad's mom's).  My mom thought that it might even have belonged to my great-grandmother before her.  As you can see I have the sugar "outbuilding" with a thatched roof lid:

 

A small creamer:

 

and here is a better look at the cottage itself.

 

.  I really like the detail, down to the two windows in the back and the vines growing up the house.  The lid is another thatched roof, with a little chimney serving as the "knob" on the top.

 

This set is by Price Bros and is made in England.  I looked up the mark on the back, and it dates to between 1934 to 1961.    

 

 I'm using a very special luncheon set for this tea.  These amber dishes are depression glass and they belonged to my great-grandmother on my dad's side.  My grandmother gave them to my mom after she married my father.   I've tried to look them up on the internet, but I'm still not sure what the pattern is called or who was the maker.

I only have two settings on the table, but I have a full service for 6 in these dishes, plus an extra two sets of the plate and saucer.  Here is a closer look at the cup and saucer, with pretty edges:

Would you like a scone with your tea?  This is the matching sandwich tray to the set.  I also have a creamer and sugar that are not on the table (I figured the cottage ones were enough!).   

 

These are maple walnut...I'll share the recipe later this week. 

 

 



Thanks for stopping by!  I'm joining:

Tea Time Tuesday at Rose Chintz Cottage

 Tea Cup Tuesday ~ http://www.marthasfavorites.com/
Tuesday Cuppa Tea~ http://www.antiquesandteacups.info/

Bernideen's Friends Sharing Tea 

T(ea).V.--A Good Witch

Today I wanted to take a quick minute to share a made for T.V. movie series with you.  The Good Witch is a wonderful Hallmark story about a magical woman, Cassie Nightingale (played by Catherine Bell), that moves to a small town and touches a great many people in the community.  Right before Halloween the seventh movie in the series aired...The Good Witch's Wonder. 

Now you are probably wondering about the tea tie-in.  There is a moment when the main character's stepson is having second thoughts about his future with his fiancé when Cassie makes him a cup of tea (with a beautiful tea set, no less!).

She pours him a cup, then pours out the tea (what a waste!),

and asks what he sees in the teacup.

 

He said it looked like bones (I guess the cross bones from a pirate's skull and cross bones...all I see is tea leaves!) and she explains that he is unsure...

 

 

In the end the advice from this scene helps him work out his feelings.

 

I'm really excited because in 2015 Hallmark will air a Good Witch series that I think will be terrific if it is anything like these movies!  I'm really looking forward to seeing what they do with it.

 





Desserts for a Halloween tea

You're probably getting tired of week two of my "Wicked tea" posts (especially since it is now November), but I've saved the best for last...dessert!  Including salted caramel apple cupcakes!  These are good all fall, so just ignore the pumpkin sticking out of it :).

These cupcakes are quite yummy if I do say so myself.

Apple cupcakes

(modified from Chow)



 

1 1/4 cup flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ginger

1/4 tsp cardamom

4 tablespoons butter, at room temperature

1 cup sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 large egg

1/2 + 2 tablespoons buttermilk

1 1/2 cup grated apple (put apple in a paper towel and squeeze moisture out)

 

1.  Heat oven to 350.  Prepare mini-cupcake tins

2.  Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices.  Whisk well.

3.  Beat butter until a light color. Add sugar and vanilla. Continue beating until light and airy.  Add egg, beating afterwards.

4.  With mixer on, add buttermilk slowly.  Batter will look curdled.  Add the flour until just combined. 

5.  Fold in apples.

6.  Mini-cupcakes took about 15 minutes for me.

 



 Salted Caramel Buttercream

 

1/2 cup salted butter

2 cups confectioner's sugar

pinch of salt

1/4 cup caramel sauce

 

Beat together butter, sugar, and salt until smooth.  Add caramel sauce and beat until smooth. 

 

 

In addition to the cupcakes, I had all sorts of witchy treats.  I used a chocolate frog mold and made hazelnut chocolate frogs using very small pieces of hazelnut and a bit of chocolate hazelnut spread.  To add a filing with a chocolate mold, but some of the melted chocolate in the mold, top with the nuts and nutella and then cover with more melted chocolate.

 

I also had witch's broom, which are small reeses cups with a pretzel stick handle.  The witches hats are chocolate covered mint oreos with a Hershey kiss attached with chocolate icing and some green piped around as the band on the hat.  I don't normally do "ready made" things for my tea parties, but the brooms and witches' hats were too cute!





Teatime Journeys goes Gluten Free

I've gotten so behind on my planned posts that this week I'm taking off from the tea parties so I can finish last week's party...oops!  So let's go gluten free!

Starting with the savories, I used the same recipes shown on the savories page for the witchy cucumber and the pimento cheese bat wings, but used gluten free bread.  I decided on the spider deviled eggs because they were cute and because they are naturally gluten free--which was a win/win for this tea party. 

 

The Jack o' lantern pies I made the same as in the savories link, but I made some homemade gluten free pie crust first, which brings me to my first recipe--a modified King Arthur Recipe.  This is my second time doing a gluten free menu along with my gluten-filled menu, and I must say I discovered something great for gluten free baking for tea parties: the gluten-free baking mix.  I found a box at Walmart, and boy am I glad I did--the recipes turned out perfectly!  Last time I cooked gluten free things were gritty, but not this time.

On to the first recipe: 

Gluten free pie crust for jack o'lantern pies (modified King Arthur recipe)

1 1/4 cup gluten free baking mix
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 tsp salt
6 tablespoons cold butter
1 large egg
1 tsp lemon juice

1.  Whisk together baking mix, sugar, and salt.
2.  Using a pastry blender, cut in butter.
3.  Whisk egg and lemon juice together until very foamy.  Mix into dry ingredients, stirring until it comes together.  Add 1 to 3 tablespoons cold water if more moisture is necessary.
4.  Shape into a ball, cover with clear wrap, and put into fridge for an hour, or overnight. 
5.  Allow dough to rest for 10 to 15 minutes before rolling, and then make pies as shown on the savories page.

I also made a special gluten-free scone--pumpkin chai!  This recipe is a mix of a couple I found online.

Pumpkin Chai scones (Gluten free)

1 cup baking mix
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cardamom
1/4 tsp salt
dash of clove
4 tablespoons cold butter
1 bag chai tea (I used a pumpkin chai)
1/4 boiling water
4 oz pumpkin
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract (be careful, not all are gluten free.  McCormack's extracts are however)

1.  Put chai tea bag in a bowl and cover with 1/4 cup boiling water.  Let steep for 5 minutes.
2.  In a bowl add dry ingredients.  Whisk together.
3.  Using a pastry blender, cut in butter.
4.  In a small bowl, mix together pumpkin, tea, egg, and vanilla extract.
5.  Add wet ingredients to dry and mix together.
6.  Oven should be preheated to 400.  Bake for 15 minutes.


I have one last post for last week's tea party then I'm done--dessert!

Happy Halloween! Have you ever been booed?

This is Halloween, this is Halloween,

Pumpkins scream in the dead of night.

This is Halloween, this is Halloween,

Trick or Treat 'til your neighbors [almost] die of fright.

~Nightmare Before Christmas

 

 

Happy Halloween!  Have you ever been booed before?  It is a game (sort of) that my neighborhood does every October.  This year I was "booed" very late--yesterday actually!  I get to go out tonight after the trick-or-treaters and boo someone else. 

 

At this point you're probably wandering what I'm talking about. 

 



This piece of paper was in the bag left on my doorstop.  It says, "place the 'we've been booed' sign in your window.  Within 2 days, make 2 copies of these instructions and the 'we've been booed' sign and gather two special treats.  Deliver the treats and papers to two other houses in your neighborhood who haven't been booed yet.  Don't let them see you do it--guessing who booed you is part of the fun!"

I went out after work today and put together my boo-packages for two lucky neighbors. 

Boo #1:  After "trick-or-treaters" relaxation

 

A small bottle of sparkling apple cider and two Reese's pumpkins (my favorite this time of year) and Gingerbread Spice caffeine free tea (I'm trying to convert my neighbors to Tea-dom)

 

A Halloween themed oven mitt (the last one by the way...I went to two different Dollar Trees and they are already switching over to Christmas!)

 

and a relaxing pumpkin pie scented candle.

 

Boo #2:  Halloween storytime

 

 

In this boo bag I have two Reese's again and some dish towels with embroidered pumpkins--you can never have enough dish towels.  I also found a Halloween themed children's book at Marshalls on sale with cute artwork, so I bought it to put in the bag as well.  There are lots of babies in my neighborhood right now.

 

Of course, the best part of the gift is the tea!

 

 

Sweet Harvest Pumpkin by Celestial Seasonings.  I love pumpkin teas, but I don't think I've ever tried this one (how I managed that, I don't know!).  The tea was on sale at Target, so I also bought myself a box.  This tea might show up again :).





I think I hear the door, so I should get going.  Hopefully I don't have to start candy rationing! 

Happy Halloween!

Savories for a Wicked Tea

The tea started with a pumpkin soup, which I first tried here.  I used the recipe in the September/October issue of TeaTime Magazine.

Now onto the savories!

First are the pimento cheese with bat wings.  I used the same recipe that my aunt used for her cheddar pinwheels, which turned out perfectly.  I liked this recipe better than the Paula Deen one with cream cheese--this one just has mayo (with a dash of Worchester sauce).  I used a bat cookie cutter (from Homegoods!) to make the shape.

 

Next the spider deviled eggs:

 

(this picture was from the "leftover" party I served to my parents to help me eat up the leftovers)

 

I made my normal deviled eggs (mashed egg yolk with mayo, sweet pickle, a dash of yellow mustard, and salt and pepper to taste) and topped them with paprika for a little extra color.  I then used canned medium black olives (pitted) to make the spiders.  I cut the larger olives in the can in half and placed in the middle of the egg.  The slightly smaller olives I cut in half, and then I sliced them thin in order to make the legs for the eight legged creatures.

 





 I also served "wicked cucumber" which is a Benedictine cucumber sandwich.

(I found the witch hat pick at the dollar store and picked up a pack--I knew I would use it for something in the party)

 

This time I used a recipe from Allrecipes, slightly modified.  I'll copy it here as I made it:

 

Benedictine Spread

 

1 large cucumber, chopped finely (I used my chopper)

2 tablespoons finely chopped onion



 1 8 oz container cream cheese, softened
1/2 teaspoon dill
4 drops green dye (to make it extra green for this Halloween tea)

Place cucumber and onion in paper towel and squeeze to remove water.
Using a mixer, combine softened cream cheese with cucumber, onion, and dill.  Mix until combined.  Add dye, mixing until color you desire.

Now onto my favorite sandwich for this tea--a pumpkin shaped pie.

 I found the recipe for this pie (that uses refrigerated pie crust, by the way and a pumpkin cookie cutter), on Woman's Day Magazine's cite here.   I just used a knife to cut out triangles for the eyes and nose and cut a slit in the shape of a smile for the mouth.