Scones for the Kiddos

I'M BACK! Man, I can't believe it's been since April that I have posted! My laptop, the gentle green girl (that I have had since the spring of 2007), finally crashed for the last time this summer. Actually, the cord literally broke off into the computer. No use trying to spend any money saving that bad boy.

The husband and I are both teachers, so we have iPads and nice school computers, so we didn't think it would be necessary to really have a home computer. Well, I didn't take into account that I would have to "check in" my school laptop for the summer, so no blogging for me for a few months. There are so many awesome recipes that I wish I could have shared (honestly, mainly for my own selfish reasons, because I ALWAYS forget the recipes which is why I started the blog in the first place). I thought that if I typed them up and posted them out on the blogosphere they could never be lost again. So far, it has worked-- with the minor exception of this summer.

The cover to my book :)

So, we are 1/2 way through the first quarter, and I can't believe how fast time is passing. I say this every year, but it is true every year. One of the many reasons why I love what I do is that time passes quickly. I am constantly moving, changing, adapting, and growing, and my students are doing the same. I get to do something completely different every day, and get paid to talk about all the geeky things I love. It doesn't get much better than that! I am still (5 years into it) at the point in my career where I firmly believe on each pay day, "I can't believe I just got paid for that!" Granted, a teacher does not a millionaire (or anywhere close to one) make. I don't need a million dollars though; I'm not even sure what I'd spend that kind of money on... well, I'm sure I could find SOME use for it if I had to... maybe copper cookware, an extra ( or larger) bathroom (we just have the ONE, tiny bathroom), a European adventure for the whole family, lactation support for all women that need it, etc. Who knows?? I digress...

sample student work

My model for the Literary Genre assessment

I had to bring my computer home this weekend to work on some lessons for my 7th grade Reading classes. I am totally revamping my curriculum this year for 7th grade, so I practically feel like a first year teacher again. All the LONG hours gathering supplies and creating my models have re-energized my teacher spirit. I had forgotten how much fun it was to create something new! This year I'm implementing Interactive Student Notebooks with my 7th Reading classes. The DAY before school started I was browsing Pinterest-- nothing new about that haha--, but this time I came across a brilliant idea, the ISN. I found the blog, Everybody is a Genius and became hooked. I had ONE day, but I knew I HAD to to this! I barely slept that first week of school. I bought resources from I'm Lovin Lit's Teachers Pay Teachers store (she has fantastic freebees, too!). The student examples are from the unit I purchased from her. I dove in, and I haven't looked back. It has been fantastic so far-- it keeps the students organized, and allows them to use their particular interests and learning styles to express their knowledge of the subject. I could go on and on about how much I love this notebook, but I'll save that for another blog post.

So, the scones already, right?! Well, about two weeks ago doodle bug started school and subsequently had her first cold ever (how did we make it 2 years??), and ended up with an ear infection... only took 1 day at preschool to get sick. I had to leave work early to take her back to the doctor yesterday to make sure she was all healed up and ready to fly next weekend. I can imagine that an ear infection and planes do not mix well. She was all clear, and according to my sub (who also happens to be my lovely mother), my homeroom students were "angels." I told them before I left that if they were 100% perfect for my mother (whom would never lie to me), then I would make them breakfast for Monday. That was all it took-- the promise of a baked good. So, scones it is. I had actually never attempted scones before, but was excited to finally give it a proper shot.

I found an amazing recipe on Food Network's website. Tyler Florence's Blueberry Scones Recipe looked too delicious to pass up. I pretty much followed his directions and recipe. I did not make the glaze (it looks delicious, but would be too messy for the classroom), but instead added lemon zest to the dough. I also used the same base recipe but swapped the blueberries for chocolate chips for the second batch. I needed about 24 scones.

Blueberry Scones

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 TBSP baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 TBSP sugar
• 5 TBSP unsalted cold unsalted butter (I grated this because I did not have a pastry tool to help me incorporate it into the dough)
• 1 cup blueberries (I used frozen)
• lemon zest to taste
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream (plus more for brushing on top)

Directions: 

1. Preheat oven to 400
2. sift together dry ingredients: flour, salt, baking powder, and sugar
3. Using a fork (or pasty tool), cut in butter. I grated my butter first. The butter coats the flour and the mixture should look like course crumbs. 
4. fold in blueberries and lemon zest-- be careful not to smash! I may have squished one in the process ;)
5. Make a well in the center of the mixture and pour in cream. 
6. Fold everything in just to incorporate-- do NOT over mix! 
7. Line baking sheet with parchment, and use large scoop to distribute mixture. 
8. Brush with cream and sprinkle with sugar
9. Bake for 15 or so minutes (until lightly brown)

They came out SO delicious!

For the chocolate scones I followed the same recipe-- I just used 1 cup chocolate chips in place of blueberries. I did a mixture of white, milk, dark, and semi-sweet chocolate chips. 

I will use this recipe again and again! I hope you like it, too! Happy Baking :)