Austrian Scones

For the past few months, I've had this nagging feeling that my blog was missing something...I think it really hit me after I wrote the recent post about what Germany sounded like, and thought about writing a post about what Germany smelled like. I'm an "S" on the Myers Briggs personality test, and from what I understand, that means the five senses are really important to me and I experience life largely through the aesthetics of my surroundings. So, that naturally led me to think about what Germany tastes like.

It's no secret that, for me, Germany tastes like bread. Whether it's a soft, buttery, braided roll, a thick, salted pretzel, or a cute little brotchen, crusty on the outside and (preferably) warm on the inside, Germany has a bread for you. And lots of bread for me. How I will ever go back to eating gluten free after this year remains to be seen, but Germany tastes like other things, too.

For us, Germany tasted a lot like frozen pizza the first month. We were too overwhelmed to do anything but turn on the oven--and even that took a surprising amount of effort. How hot is 200 degrees Celsius, anyway? What do all the settings on our oven even mean? And, oh yeah, the directions on the pizza box aren't in English.

But alongside the frozen pizza, Germany also tasted like yummy homemade meals created by generous new friends who insisted we not bring anything. (And that was probably for the best in our seemingly endless jet-lagged state, barely able to leave the grocery store with food, much less identifiable food that tasted good.) In the first two weeks of our arrival, we probably had ten dinner invitations. I couldn't get over that sweet, tangible way people reached out to us.

Since then, Germany has started to taste like new recipes, for a variety of reasons. Not every food we used to get in the states is easily available in Germany. In case I haven't made it clear, crunchy granola bars are notably missing from this country, as are good salsa and good tortilla chips (according to Jordan) and chocolate chips. And sometimes, even if I can find the same foods, they are more expensive, or just different than I'm used to. My avocado choosing abilities have gone out the window since moving here, which has been tough, because I LOVE avocados. (And on that note--feel free to skip this part if you aren't into avocados--but I think picking out avocados calls for different skillsets depending on where you live. Each time I've made a major move, it's taken about a year of adjustment before I hone my avocado picking skills to perfection again. What would be a perfect avocado in Florida will be far too mushy in Colorado! It's maddening. In Germany, the ones that feel "perfectly" ripe, have already turned brown inside and are starting to rot. And yes, I know the pinterest idea about popping off the little nub to see the color underneath that will tell you if it's past it's prime, but did you read my post about the German grocery store? You aren't supposed to touch the fruit unless you are going to buy it! There are plastic gloves available if you absolutely need to squeeze a pear or sniff a peach. I usually try to stealthily squeeze an avocado while doing the one thumbed nub pop off, but it's hard. Maybe the stress is what's causing me to lose my skills. Anyway.)

Another reason my recipe repertoire has changed, is that my thoughtful friend, Julia, gave me the book "Bread and Wine" which is filled with sweet stories and yummy food ideas. And finally, being in Germany has connected me to new people who have new recipes to share. So, these days, along with some of the usual standbys, I cook things like ratatouille, crepes, and enchiladas (a challenge with the lame salsa, by the way).

But the point of this post is not to talk about dinner foods, or even avocados; it's actually to tell you about the yummiest of treats I discovered how to make this winter. I was introduced to these scones by my friend, Katrina. She is the much-loved history teacher and vice principal of the middle school here at BFA. She made these scones for a staff breakfast and was kind enough to share her recipe. Though she doesn't recall where she learned to make these scones, I have dubbed them, "Austrian Scones", since Katrina grew up in Austria, and that's just the coolest.



My friend Johanna (who is pictured baking with us) and I love these scones so much that when we get together to work out, we usually just end up baking and eating them instead. Jordan loves these scones so much, he keeps asking me when "we" are going to make them again. To be fair, I think he learned that language from me--ie "Could "we" take out the trash today?" "Maybe "we" can change that light-bulb soon?" Personally, I've had a soft spot for scones ever since working at a tea house in college. Really, my love was for the clotted cream, the scones were just an acceptable vehicle for stuffing cream into my mouth. All five of my roommates also worked at this tea house from time to time, and we took turns spying on our boss as she prepared her secret clotted cream recipe, but we never did succeed in getting it. So, I would recommend just whipping up some whipping cream with a bit of sugar, and it will do the trick.

So, with that, I give you my very first blog recipe, Katrina's Austrian Scones. It's even in cups and Fahrenheit, not grams and Celsius, so consider yourself lucky.

Ingredients:                 2 cups flour

                                    ½ cup sugar

                                    2 tsp baking powder

                                    ½ tsp salt

                                    1/3 cup butter

                                    ½ cup whipping cream (I sub almond milk, but cream tastes better, obviously)

                                    1 egg

                                    1 ½ tsp vanilla

                                    cranberries, white chocolate chips, other “mix ins” (the white chocolate is key)

                                    1 more egg for glaze

Directions:

1.    Preheat the oven at 350 degrees F.
2.     Stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
3.     Using a pastry cutter, “cut” in the butter. (This part is hard, don't give up).
4.     In a separate container, stir together the cream, egg, and vanilla.
5.     Mix the wet into the dry ingredients. You may need to use your hands to knead the dough.
6.     Add in the cranberries and white chocolate chips.
7.     Spread on a floured surface. Form into a circle and cut into triangles. (Makes them look very authentic).
8.     Beat the other egg and brush onto the tops of the scones. (Optional, but again, adds to aesthetics).
9.     Bake 15(ish) minutes.
10. Enjoy with clotted cream or jam.