orange poppyseed scones

orange poppy scones

It’s been quite a busy week and with all the time I’ve been putting in the kitchen, I’m going to keep this post short. No long stories to regale you with, just a quick reminder that Mother’s Day is upon us – and I, for one, wish that Andrew’s and my moms were close by this weekend so we could make them a lovely brunch in celebration of the most important job they’ve ever had – taking care of their kids.

But we’re here in Brooklyn and our moms are in Boston. So it’s kind of an IOU to both of them. Moms – we love you and miss you and just want to say thanks on the interwebs!

potato bacon cake

A few days ago, the lovely folks at Martha Stewart Everyday Food had me and a few other bloggers over for a Mother’s Day themed brunch. Normally, I don’t write about these events – but this was truly amazing, lovely, small-scale event that allowed us to get to know the amazing team behind this terrific magazine. I know I’m not alone in saying this – Everyday Food cooks up some terrific fare! What I love about the magazine is its clear and thoughtful approach to food – making cooking every night (or every other night) attainable for those of us who aren’t spending most of our time tending to our houses or apartments. Also, and this is completely unrelated, that prop room is so incredible, I told Anna Last, Everyday Food Editor in Chief that I’d like to move into that room and plant myself right by the cake stands (I sure hope she doesn’t mind!)

at the test kitchen
i seriously covet all those pots

The incredibly delicious brunch that the editors cooked for us is so attainable, so manageable – that you can do it come this weekend. There’s a bacon potato cake that you can make the night before and reheat in the morning. The tomato casserole with only four ingredients that was so good, I almost claimed the entire tray of it for myself. The croque-madames, that had gorgeous, perfectly oozy yolks; the orange poppy-seed scones that instantly melted in your mouth. The brunch is so brilliantly conceived – your oven stays at 400 degrees F the entire time. Genius, don’t you think?

tomato casserole
orange poppy scones

The entire brunch is available in the current Everyday Food issue – I’ll leave you here with a teaser recipe for scones, which I baked tonight and had for dinner. And before you start judging me – scones are perfectly acceptable dinner option, especially if you’ve got lovely cultured butter and some homemade blood orange and Meyer lemon jam on hand, even if they make for a rather unorthodox dinner.

fizzy drink

The Menu:
Cranberry-Orange Sparkler
Potato and Bacon Cake
Tomato-Onion Casserole
Orange-Poppy Scones
Croque Madame Sandwiches
Chocolate-Dipped Macadamia Cookies

Print

Orange Poppy Scones
Adapted from Everyday Food

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups (11 1/4 ounces / 320 grams) all-purpose flour
1/4 cup (2 ounces / 56 grams) granulated sugar
1 tablespoon (5/8 ounce / 12 grams) baking powder
3/4 teaspoon (1/8 ounce / 2 grams) coarse kosher salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons buttermilk, divided
1 tablespoon finely grated orange zest
1/4 cup orange juice (about 1 orange)
1 large egg yolk
2 teaspoons (1/4 ounce / 8 grams) poppy seeds
Coarse demerara sugar for sprinkling
Butter and fruit jam for serving

Preparation:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and position the racks in the upper and lower thirds. Line two jelly rolls with parchment paper.

2. Using a pastry blender or your fingertips, work butter into flour mixgure until it resembles coarse meal, with a few pea-sized pieces of butter remaining. Using a fork, stir in 1/2 cup buttermilk, zest, juice, yolk, and poppy seeds until just combined. The dough should be scraggly and messy-looking.

3. Turn out dough onto a lightly flour surface, and knead a few times to form a 7-inch square. Cut into 9 squares, then cut each half diagonally. Transfer the triangles to the baking sheets. Brush tops with the remaining buttermilk and sprinkle with demerara sugar. Bake until scones are pale golden, 15 to 17 minutes, roating sheets halfway through. Allow to cool on wire racks. Serve with butter and jam, if you like.

11 Comments

  • Kare

    They look delicious (and I absolutely support scones for dinner!)

    And I can only imagine the props. *drool*.

  • Ruth

    I, too am drooling over the imagined wealth of props. The scone recipe looks lovely! My mum loves poppy seeds, but it isn’t mother’s day here – we had it in March! I may bake them for her anyway though….

  • Tracy

    I made these for Easter! You’ll be happy to know that they freeze REALLY well, so if you find yourself eating too many…just pop them in the freezer ;)

  • snippets of thyme

    I am so impressed that you had this experience. I submitted my blog to the Martha Stewart Circle. I just heard back and they responded that they thought my work would be a great fit to their circle but that my readership just needs to get up. Just to hear back from my icon of a magazine was impressive to me. If it was a rejection, it was the softest rejection I know. Anyways, your scones are beautiful, your experience at their test kitchens is incredible, and maybe one day I’ll get in there!!!

  • Brian @ A Thought For Food

    I know how you feel… my parents are in NJ while we’re up here in Boston. We lucked out, though, and had a quick visit with them on Saturday (they came for my mother in law’s retirement party). But I was still left feeling a bit sad today.

    These scones are marvelous and the other brunch looks fantastic! What a wonderful experience.

  • K

    Olga, you mention adding a “yolk” in step 2 of the recipe, but there are no eggs listed in the ingredients. How many eggs/yolks? This looks lovely and I’d like to try it out. Thank you!

  • Radish

    Mari – yes, i made the jam in february or march – it’s somewhere in the archives. :)

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