White Chocolate, Almond & Apricot Scones, Game 5
Game 5 of the Lakers vs. Celtics NBA Finals series was a complete disappointment with the Lakers losing, 92 – 86. The series is now 3 – 2 with the Celtics leading. Kobe showed-up to the game in the 2nd half with over 30 points, but the rest of the Lakers team didn’t “bring it”, and with the Celtics shooting at roughly 66%, we were doomed. If the Lakers can’t play championship-grade basketball, they don’t deserve to win. What a disappointing loss and a HORRIBLE way to end an otherwise spectacular weekend!
We started off our weekend on Saturday by celebrating the first birthday of the daughter of one of my best girlfriends, N, at Bolsa Chica State Park. Unfortunately, it was a windy and chilly day for the beach, but that didn’t stop us from having a really great time. This was Bebe E’s first time at the beach and it was so much fun to watch her first reactions to so many new experiences. She looked both frightened and mesmerized by the big waves in the ocean, and at first she wouldn’t crawl on the blanket over the sand because of the odd sinking sensation, but eventually she played happily with her beach toys, ran her hands through the sand, tasted a lava rock or two (and more than a few grains of sand) and overall had a fabulous time.
Sunday, I woke up early and had a craving for white chocolate, almond and apricot scones so I baked these for breakfast instead of waiting for Bebe Dada to make our regular Sunday breakfast. The first time I made these scones was with my girlfriend, N, and maybe having spent some time with her the day before triggered my craving for these nostalgic scones.
N and I grew-up with a group of 8 – 10 girls (the WLA girls) and we all went to the same middle school, Japanese school, and Sunday school. Some of us went to the same elementary school, high school and college, but through the years we’ve stayed best girlfriends and still continue to share our lives together. We went from childhood and teen sleepovers, movie nights and prom, to trips to Hawaii, clubbing and settling down. We’ve been fortunate because we’ve all stayed in Southern California, and whether it’s weddings, funerals, baby showers, our birthdays, our kids’ birthdays, illness and good health (sounds like wedding vows, huh?) we have been there for one another, and I imagine we’ll be together to the end of our days.
So getting back to the scones… One of the events N and I hosted for the WLA girls, many moons ago before marriage and kids, was a tea party. The girls and I love high-tea and have frequented a variety of tea salons in our time, but during this particular phase in our life, we decided to make a variety of scones and tea sandwiches and have our own little ‘grown-up’ tea party. One of my favorite scones from this tea party is the white chocolate, almond and apricot scone found in this lovely cookbook by Gail Greco.
Apricot, White Chocolate and Almond Scones
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup whole-wheat flour
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 3/4 stick cold unsalted butter
- 2 eggs
- 3/4 cup half-and-half
- 2 1/2 teaspoons almond extract
- 8 ounces white chocolate, cut into bite-sized pieces
- 1 1/2 cups chopped, toasted slivered almonds
- 1 1/2 cups chopped dried apricots
1) Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F.
2) In a large bowl, combine flours, sugar, salt and baking powder and stir with a whisk. If you’re using a KitchenAid or stand-mixer, combine these ingredients directly into the mixing bowl.
3) Cut the butter into small pieces then combine with the dry ingredients and using the paddle attachment (for stand-mixer), mix for 3 – 4 minutes until the mixture resembles course crumbs. If you are not using a stand-mixer, cut the butter into the flour using two butter knives.
4) In a separate bowl, gently beat eggs, cream and almond extract and add this to the dry ingredients. If you’re using a stand-mixer, use the dough kneading attachment (hook), or knead the dough by hand until well-mixed. But don’t over-mix.
5) Gently knead in white chocolate, almonds and apricots. I used sliced almonds since that’s all I had in our pantry. The original recipe suggests rolling out the dough on a floured surface to a 1/2-inch thickness then use a 3-inch heart-shaped cookie cutter to make heart-shaped scones, but I just made tablespoon-sized rounds.
6) Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet for 15 -20 minutes or until lightly browned.
The white chocolate in these scones make them sweet enough to eat alone, but I served these with some of the kumquat cara-cara marmalade and mock devonshire cream that I made.
Cheers!
Judy | bebe mama
Oh… and I almost forgot my Lakers cheer due to my disappointment after Game 5…
LET’S GO LAKERS! LET’S GO!
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup whole-wheat flour
- ½ cup sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ¾ stick cold unsalted butter
- 2 eggs
- ¾ cup half-and-half
- 2½ teaspoons almond extract
- 8 ounces white chocolate, cut into bite-sized pieces
- 1½ cups chopped, toasted slivered almonds
- 1½ cups chopped dried apricots
- Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a large bowl, combine flours, sugar, salt and baking powder and stir with a whisk. If you're using a KitchenAid or stand-mixer, combine these ingredients directly into the mixing bowl.
- Cut the butter into small pieces then combine with the dry ingredients and using the paddle attachment (for stand-mixer), mix for 3 - 4 minutes until the mixture resembles course crumbs. If you are not using a stand-mixer, cut the butter into the flour using two butter knives.
- In a separate bowl, gently beat eggs, cream and almond extract and add this to the dry ingredients. If you're using a stand-mixer, use the dough kneading attachment (hook), or knead the dough by hand until well-mixed. But don't over-mix.
- Gently knead in white chocolate, almonds and apricots. I used sliced almonds since that's all I had in our pantry. The original recipe suggests rolling out the dough on a floured surface to a ½-inch thickness then use a 3-inch heart-shaped cookie cutter to make heart-shaped scones, but I just made tablespoon-sized rounds.
- Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet for 15 -20 minutes or until lightly browned.
- The white chocolate in these scones make them sweet enough to eat alone, but I served these with some kumquat cara-cara marmalade (see Recipe page) and mock devonshire cream (see Recipe page).
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