Guest Cheryl St. John with Eggnog Scones

B-r-r-r-r-r!!! It's been a brisk beginning of December here in the Black Hills of South Dakota! Over the last week, negative temperatures have been the norm...but that's perfect to start the Christmas season, isn't it?

Jan here, and I'm so excited to introduce you to our guest in the cafe today! It's Cheryl St. John!!!!! And she has a fabulous recipe to share with us. I tried it out last week. These scones are so sweet, soft and delicious, you'll love them.

But without further ado, here's Cheryl:

I share a passion for eggnog with several of you, and it’s the season! One of my favorite holiday events is a tea, where I get out all my pretty teapots and cups and saucers and bake ahead for a week or more. Scones are my passion at teatime, or any time really.

This is the recipe I’ve come up with after much experimentation. Many scone recipes don’t call for an egg, but I love the texture an egg gives the dough. Heavy cream makes a scone less like a biscuit.  Eggnog is an ingredient I stumbled upon, and the flavor it adds is incredible. Orange juice is another alternative. You many add or substitute ingredients - for example craisins & raisins are interchangeable. Currants are an option.  Walnuts or pecans are a good addition. Guess what--some people like them plain!

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Jan here. Notice I opted for Cheryl's Craisin
alternative!

Soak 1/2 cup raisins in warm water.

In mixing bowl sift together:

2 cups flour

½ tsp salt

2 ½ tsp baking powder

½ cup (or less) sugar

Use pastry cutter to cut 1/3 cup butter or margarine into the flour mixture.

Add 1 beaten egg

½ cup egg nog (or heavy cream)

I always make a double batch:

4 cups flour

¾ - 1 cup sugar

1 tsp salt

5 tsp baking powder

2/3 cup butter/margarine

2 eggs

1 cup eggnog

            1 cup raisins

Stir with fork till pretty well mixed (it will be dry and crumbly), then turn out onto lightly floured surface or floured waxed paper and knead several times until a dough forms.  Keep a little cup of flour at your fingertips and dust surface and hands with flour until you get a good consistency for pressing out. (If it sticks to your fingers, add more flour.)

Press dough out to about ½ in thickness. You may either

-       cut dough into shapes with cookie cutters or a glass…

-       or roll out the entire batch into a circle (2 if you double the recipe) and cut into pie-shaped wedges.

Place on lightly sprayed cookie sheet and bake 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned.

Jan here again: I'll have to make Cheryl's suggested double batch
next time. These barely lasted long enough to get a picture!

Some people brush the tops with milk. I don’t.

Optional: sprinkle with sugar or grated lemon peel

My special topping: sprinkle with lemonade mix!

Another option - a dash of ginger or cinnamon

Scones are so easy to make ahead. These freeze great. Layer with waxed paper and freeze in a tightly sealed container. Thaw them out a few hours before serving.

Serve with preserves, jelly or lemon curd.

Buy your copy HERE!

Cheryl's achievements include over fifty published books in both contemporary and historical romance 
genres, as well as a Writers Digest craft book, WRITING WITH EMOTION, TENSION & CONFLICT. She has received numerous Romantic Times Reviewers Choice Awards and RITA nominations. In describing her stories of second chances and redemption, readers and reviewers use words like, “emotional punch, hometown feel, core values, believable characters and real life situations.” She has taught writing on local and national levels, and is in demand as a motivational speaker.

Connecting with the reader on an emotional level is a vital skill that every writer must learn to master. Whatever the genre, emotion, tension, conflict, and pathos are essential to hooking the reader's interest from the very first page. Writing With Emotion, Tension, and Conflict gives writers a variety of intensive tools and techniques for instilling emotion into plots, characters, dialogue, and settings in order to achieve the highest impact with each element.

Wow! Where was this book when I started my writing career?

"A must-have compilation of rock-sound advice from a writer who knows what she's talking about. A book you'll want to inhale whole and then return to time and time again to improve your craft and go deeper in order to write YOUR story. Not only does this book embrace some of the most complex elements of story construction in a clear, easy to digest format, it acts as inspiration for the writer. Sentence upon sentence of outstanding advice!"

- Mary Buckham, author of the Amazon best-selling WRITING ACTIVE SETTINGS series for writers.

Christmas movies and eggnog, the secret ingredient

I am an eggnog fan. Always have been. Over the decades I've seen a lot of eggnog flavored cookies, chocolate, coffee and wondered why? Part of the appeal of eggnog for me was the cool creamy taste. Not crumbly. Not overly sweet. Definitely NOT hot!

Egg nog used to be so special, punch bowl sets were made specifically for the opportunity to drink the nog!

Eggnog is my drink of choice while I watch the Alastair Sim version of The Christmas Carol. Love watching that movie, love drinking the 'nog. I drank so much eggnog most Christmas Eves that I was sick Christmas morning.

You can purchase the original black and white version of A Christmas Carol here. I hate when they colorize classic movies!

An upset tummy should have been a clue that eggnog is just a little bit rich. Cream, sugar,eggs, more cream. That stuff is thick. Even worse most brands, when I was growing up, had a lot of thickening gums like guar or carrageneen. They would coat the tongue like nothing else.  I blame that stuff for giving eggnog a bad rep or maybe it was the folks who made it from scratch and got salmonella because the eggs were uncooked!


But I discovered Organic Valley Eggnog this year and am in heaven. It's not gummy, overly sweet, lacking in nutmeg.  It is the best eggnog with organic ingredients that make it all that much more delicious. These aren't their recipes but the brand makes all the difference.

 But eggnog is a great ingredient in many different recipes because it is made with milk, cream, sugar and a dose of spices. Eggnog gives a richness to recipes or a holiday taste that is special.

Ah, such a pretty bowl of ice cream - with a bit of nutmeg on top!

 

Easy Egg Nog Ice Cream

One container Organic Valley egg nog.  Yes, that's it!

Throw it in your ice cream maker and in less than 20 minutes it is frozen enough to pack and cure for a few hours. 

That's it. So delicious. If you don't eat all of it right away, be sure to let it sit out on the counter for about 15 minutes to soften before eating.

Not if you aren't a winter ice cream person, there is always fudge. I had trouble finding recipes that did not have marshmallow cream (yep, made with corn syrup so it was a no go). But I did find a recipe that appealed to me even though it didn't use egg nog, just evoked the flavor.

To be truthful, I had a cream cheese recipe I had high hopes for.  But weather events intervened to make me choose!  Unseasonably warm and humid weather in this neck of the woods affected the cream cheese recipe and made it more like frosting! The simpler recipe did look like fudge. But nothing is going to waste. Just think of how the cream cheese frosting will taste on ginger bread or carrot cake. Or just try making it on a better weather day. Epic fails are what we do best here at Yankee Belle. 

So here is the recipe that works in crazy winter weather. (Thinking of all my friends affected by the snow, ice and power outages).  And remember, you can add nuts.


Microwave Eggnog Fudge Find the original recipe by Anne Colagioia and video here. I adapted it for the microwave as well as using one bag of chips and omitting the nuts. Most recipes use one bag or two cups.


Two cups white chocolate chips (usually one 11oz bag)
1 can sweetened condensed milk
2 tablespoons cold butter
1 teaspoon vanilla or rum flavoring
Nutmeg to taste
Nuts, optional  

1. Microwave chips for one minute at 50 power to melt. Stir until melted. If not totally melted, microwave for intervals of 15 seconds. You may be able to microwave on high for one minute but I have developed hot spots so do a lower temp. Stir well so the chips break down and you don't get burn spots. If you know your microwave well, do as you would for melting regular chocolate chips.
2. Pour condensed milk over melted chips and stir.
3. Cut cold butter over mixture and microwave for 30 seconds. Take out and stir until butter is melted.
4. Add vanilla or rum flavoring and several shakes of nutmeg. Stir until blended.
5. Pour into a narrow loaf pan if you like the fudge think or an 8X8 if you like it not as high.  Less calories per piece too. If you add the nuts, it will be a thicker fudge cube.
6. Refrigerate until firm at least two hours.

My humble opinion? I liked that fudgy rich mouth feel. But you be the judge!

So, what is your favorite version of a Christmas Carol or do you have another favorite Christmas movie? Are you pro-egg nog or anti?  Do you have a favorite fudge base?