It is no secret in our house, that whoever is on “dog walk duty” each morning gets the stare-down and followed around incessantly until she gets her way. This can begin right after she watches us out of the corner of her eye as we sip our coffee and try to get to some palpable level of cognitive function, especially lagging these days – as the sun isn’t peaking its head over the tree line until well after 7:30.
who can resist this kind of pressure? <3 (these three shots just this am) Don’t get me wrong, we’d do anything for her, especially now when we feel so lucky to still have her with us! She’s almost 13, and considering her recent issues, every single day is a gift!
This past week or so, I have been walking the dog before I eat breakfast. This is because by the time I sit under my sun light for an hour or so, shower and head out it is well past the time when she is ready to go. While I am out walking on these glorious sunny mornings, my mind goes amuck and I begin dreaming of baking……. Then, by the time I arrive home, I’m hungry……… The prospect of a soft-boiled egg and my own resolve have dissipated up into those ethereal blue skies ……..
The other day I became fixated on the Banana-Pear Cake and then it was a Cherry Crumb Coffee cake (haven’t done that yet) and today it was a Banana-Corn Scone. I have to say that this is my favorite Banana Scone to date – very tender and I really like the flavor. The addition of the ground pecans and corn meal into the flour really worked well and didn’t toughen the scone at all. As I have noted on other blog posts involving Bananas, they are hard to work with because of their density. These are light and delicate. Fervent taste-tester that I am, I weaken my resolve and break off a tiny corner…….. Ugh, tomorrow it will be back to the soft-boiled egg first.
BANANA-CORN SCONES WITH PECANS – yields 9 scones
1/2 cup finely ground pecans (do this first in the food processor)
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup stone ground organic corn meal
1 tblsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3 tblsp muscavado sugar (can use Sugar in the Raw)
8 tblsp unsalted butter, cold, cut into cubes
2 overripe bananas, mashed
2 eggs
1/4 cup buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla extract
egg wash
1/2 cup pecans, finely chopped and mixed with 2 tblsp muscavado sugar (Sugar in the Raw)
Preheat oven to 425F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
In the bowl of your food processor, whir together the ground pecans, flour, corn meal, baking powder, and salt. Add the cubed butter and pulse, 8-9 times or until the butter resembles small peas. Remove the dry ingredients to a low, wide bowl. Make a well in the center.
In a measuring cup, whisk together the eggs, buttermilk and vanilla. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and, working with a dough scraper, gently begin to work the dry ingredients into the wet. When the wet are absorbed (the dough will not be cohesive at this point in this recipe) add the mashed bananas. Continue working the dough with the dough scraper for 4-5 “turns”. Then, finish kneading the dough together with your hands. As the bananas mix into the dough, it will become very sticky. Sprinkle in a little bit more flour if it is excessively wet. Drop the scones by large tablespoonfuls onto the prepared pan. Brush and “re-form” with an egg-wash dipped brush – i.e., make them tower-like rather than low “blobs”. Sprinkle the tops with the mixture of chopped pecans and muscavado sugar. Bake for 20 minutes, turning pan halfway through, or until scones are nicely browned and firm to the touch. Serve with your best sweet cream butter. Enjoy! I was tempted to drizzle some honey over the butter here, but it seriously wasn’t needed.