Cherry Chocolate Scones with Almond Glaze

I've never made scones before and found them a little intimidating. I've red many recipes that said you needed a special attachment for your mixer or had to cut the butter in a specific way. This made me nervous, so I kind of avoided scone recipes before. However, I recently read a version that used a cheese grater to cut the frozen butter, and I thought I would give it a shot. I recently bought some delicious sweet black cherries and thought they would be great combined with some chocolate chunks I had in my pantry. I finished it off with a delicious almond glaze. I wish I would have made scones sooner, because they were actually really easy to pull off! Mine didn't turn out that pretty, but they tasted good! I'll definitely be experimenting with different combinations in the future. Enjoy! 

Cherry Chocolate Scones with Almond Glaze

Ingredients:

2 cups flour

1/3 cup sugar

1 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. baking soda 

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, frozen

1/2 cup fresh (or frozen and de-thawed) black cherries, pitted and quartered

1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips or chocolate chunks

1/2 cup vanilla yogurt (I used Dannon Light and Fit)

1 large egg

For glaze:

3/4 cup powdered sugar, sifted

1/4 tsp. almond extract

3-4 tsp. non-fat milk

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 

2. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large mixing bowl and stir until well combined. 

3. Grate butter with large holed cheese grater. Use fingers to mix butter in with flour mixture until coarse crumbly texture is reached. Gently stir in cherries and chocolate. 

4. In separate bowl, whisk together yogurt and egg until smooth. Stir sour cream mixture into flour mixture until large dough clumps form. Press the dough into a ball. 

5. Transfer dough ball onto lightly floured wax paper and pat into a circle about 8 inches thick. Cut dough into 8 equal triangles using a knife. 

6. Place triangles onto greased cookie sheet and bake 15-17 minutes or until golden brown. 

7. While scones are baking, combine powdered sugar, almond extract and milk in mixing bowl. Whisk until smooth and desired consistency is reached. Allow scones to cool 5-10 minutes before applying glaze. Enjoy! 

Crockpot Snack Mix

Summer time means party time! And party time means yummy snack foods. This recipe is the perfect snack to bring to all your summer events. It's super easy to make, and easy to customize to your liking! Yum!

Crockpot Snack Mix

Ingredients:

1 box Crispix Cereal

1/2 box Cheez-it's 

1/2 bag butter crisp pretzels

1/2 container party peanuts 

(Feel free to change up dry ingredients to your liking)

1/2 cup salted butter

4 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp onion powder

3 tsp seasoned salt

Directions:

1. Combine cereal, crackers, pretzels, and peanuts in large bowl. Toss until well combined. Set aside. 

2. In microwave safe container, microwave butter 1 minute. Stir until melted. Microwave in 15 second intervals if needed. Add Worcestershire sauce and stir unit well combined. Add spices and stir until smooth. 

3. Spoon seasoning mixture over cereal mixture slowly, mixing after every two spoonfuls. Mix until everything is fully coated. 

4. Transfer mixture in to crock pot and turn on low. Cook for 2 hours, stirring every 30 minutes. Remove lid and cook an additional 30 minutes. Allow to cool fully before serving. Store in airtight container for up to 1 week (if it lasts that long!)

Peaches 'n Cream Smoothie

Peaches 'n Cream Smoothie

Ahhh, summertime! The best time of the year! One thing that is great about summer is the amazing quality of local fruit! This summertime smoothie is super light and tasty for the perfect breakfast or snack!

Ingredients:

1 cup frozen peaches

1 container Light & Fit vanilla Greek yogurt 

1/2 cup Tropicana Trop 50 orange juice

1/2 cup Silk light vanilla almond milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp honey (optional)

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in blender. Blend until smooth. 

(If more sweetness desired, add honey. If thinner consistency is desired, add more orange juice or almond milk.) Enjoy!