I have a thing for scones. The best ones are dense but tender. They might fall apart slightly, but somehow they’re still moist. All that is probably thanks to the half and half and butter. Oh, yum.

My favorite place to go when I have some “me” time is Caribou Coffee. Being able to get out of the house, visiting with friends, reading a book in peace or just drinking coffee without someone talking to me is a really nice luxury when you are the mom to 4 little kids. So, I find myself at Caribou once or twice a week. My friend, The Inspired Cook, introduced me to their Lemon and Thyme Scones. At first, I was a little hesitant. Lemon and thyme? That seemed like a weird combination for a scone. I was wrong! These are so good.

The lemon and thyme combo is great. They play off of each other well. The flavors are subtle, which is really nice.

I made these using whole wheat pastry flour. I don’t think I’ll ever use all-purpose flour again. You can’t even tell these are made with whole wheat flour. Seriously. Whole wheat pastry flour is so fine and soft that it’s perfect for all your baking needs. Scones, muffins, cookies, bars, pancakes, whatever you want. Except bread. I would probably use regular whole wheat flour for bread.

That said. The whole wheat flour is the only healthy thing about these. There’s sugar, butter, half and half, and powdered sugar. So, we’ll eat these once in a while as a tasty treat.

Lemon and Thyme Scones

recipe adapted from Iowa Girl Eats

Ingredients:

• 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour (or all-purpose flour)
• 1/4 cup sugar (I think I’m going to try replacing this with honey next time)
• 1 T baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1/2 cup cold butter
• 1/2 cup half & half
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp lemon zest
• 1 tsp fresh lemon juice
• For the glaze: 3 cups powdered sugar, 6 T half & half, and 1 tsp lemon zest

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together your flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and thyme. Grate in your cold butter until your flour is a really fine, sand-like texture.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together, your half & half, egg, lemon zest and lemon juice. Stir this into your flour mixture. Roll it into a ball, and on a lightly floured surface, knead a few times until it all comes together. If the dough seems pretty dry, you can add a tablespoon at a time of half & half or milk until it comes together nicely.
4. Roll dough into a rectangle about a 1/2″ thick.
5. Cut rectangle into 6 rectangles, then cut each one in half. If you want them even smaller (mini), then cut them in half again.
6. Put scones on the lined baking sheet and bake for 6-7 minutes for the mini scones, and 8-10 for the larger ones. They’re done when they’re just starting to brown. Move scones to a wire rack.
7. While the scones are cooling, whisk together your glaze ingredients.
8. When scones are cool, dip each one in the glaze, and then put back on the wire rack for the glaze to harden.
9. Enjoy!

– Jill

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It’s Cookie Week here on Reini Days! I looooove cookies. They are my downfall. If I bake them, I will eat them. Unless I give the cookies away, I will eat every stinkin’ yummy one. So, that’s what I did. A few ladies I know had babies and I made them cookies (and, yes, I ate a few).

So, this week will be those recipes. And if you don’t like cookies I’m not sure why you’re visiting our blog. Just kidding! I love you all.

Up first: Nutty Butter Cookies. Eat one of these cookies and all will be well in the world.

I’m generally not a peanut butter cookie fan because most peanut butter cookies bore me. Not these. These are full of buttery oats, chopped nuts, peanut butter, a taste of honey, and whole wheat pastry flour (which I love, love, love!!)

The nice thing about these cookies? You can sub in whatever nut butter you want, or whatever chopped nuts you have on hand. (The original recipe says that the nut butter and the chopped nuts should be the same kind; i.e. peanut butter and peanuts, or almond butter and almonds.) The possibilities are endless!

These Nutty Butter Cookies are light, crumbly, soft, and full of peanut buttery goodness. Best peanut butter cookie. Ever. Seriously.

Nutty Butter Cookies

recipe adapted from The Food Network Magazine

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter, softened and divided
• 1/2 cup coconut oil, melted and cooled
• 1 cup quick-cooking oats
• 1 cup, plus 2 T whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp coarse salt
• 2 T honey
• 1/2 cup packed dark-brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup peanut butter (or other nut butter)
• 1/2 cup peanuts, chopped (or other nuts)

Directions:

1. Melt 1/4 cup butter in a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat. Add oats, and cook, until toasted, about 5-7 minutes. Spread oat mixture over parchment-lined baking sheet. Let cool.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt.
4. In another bowl, beat together remaining 1/4 cup butter, coconut oil, honey, and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg, and beat again. Add peanut butter, and mix again until well-blended.
5. Stir in the oat mixture and chopped nuts to the peanut butter mixture and mix well. Add flour mixture, and mix again until all is blended.
6. Roll dough into 1 1/2-inch balls. Put cookies on a parchment-lined baking sheet about an inch apart. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until cookies are golden brown. Let cool on pan for a few minutes, and then move to a wire rack.
7. Enjoy!

– the Jilb

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