COFFEE GLAZED CHOCOLATE-CHIP SCONES…A delicious mouthful!

“I always fear that creation will expire before tea time.”

A sweet beginning for October. A new month, a fresh bunch of challenges, a load of activity across blogs…& food, glorious food! Winter is creeping into the Northern hemisphere, while Spring is springing into the Southern. What better time to enjoy some warm scones for tea but now?My first exposure to authentic scones was back in the 80’s when a bunch of us girlfriends had gone over to stay in a castle up in North England which was being restored by a Scottish lady. The memories are quite faint now, but I vividly remember a couple of things… the huge gate-posts made of stone with carved lion heads, early morning mist, beds of lavender, the beautiful guest rooms in hues of pastel pinks & lavenders–done up in hand-made lace linen made by Irish nuns, & fresh scones for tea! The pastels in this post are reminiscent of those connections long gone…but the clotted cream is missing!! Found this perfect recipe for scones to enjoy the change in season & nip in the air; it’s from a wonderful blog that I love visiting. Baking & Books is authored by Ariela, a talented lady who says she loves coffee, cooking, baking, traveling, running with Oreo, books & music..& more. The recipe was a winner though I had some minor problems with a sticky dough, & ended up not using all the buttermilk. That said, the scones eventually formed beautifully (after the addition of extra flour), were delicious & had a delicate crumb. Gentle flavours of nutmeg combined beautifully with the dark chocolate chips & coffee glazing. I cut the scones with a 2″ cutter instead of a 3″ one, since I knew the kids would go for seconds! Smart ole me…or mean ole me…whatever!! Ariela served some Iced Cardamom Coffee with these…I didn’t have time to get that far, though I do wish I did. Will try that one day!! Pretty portulaca or moss roses…the last of the summer flowers…
Coffee-Glazed Chocolate Chip Scones from Baking & Books
Makes 8 large scones or 16 smaller 2″ ones like I made

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon light brown sugar, both packed
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 large egg
3/4 cup buttermilk (I didn’t use up all of it)
About 1/4 cup whole milk
For the coffee glaze:
3/4 cup confectioners sugar
1 tablespoon + 1/2 teaspoon freshly brewed coffee (I brewed 3 tsps medium roast coffee in 1 1/2 tbsps of hot water)

• Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• In a large bowl combine the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and nutmeg. Add the butter pieces. Use your fingertips to rub the butter into the mixture until it resembles coarse bread crumbs. (I used the food processor).
• Stir in the chocolate chips.
• In a small bowl, gently whisk the egg and buttermilk together. Add to dry ingredients and mix until the dough comes together in clumps. Coat your hands with flour and gather the dough into a ball. (If the dough is too sticky to handle you can sprinkle flour on it about 1/2 teaspoon at a time, just enough for you to handle it. Don’t add too much or you’ll dry out your dough!)
• Turn your ball of dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Gently press into a circle about 8 inches in diameter.
• Use a medium, round 3-inch cookie cutter to shape the scones. Dip the cookie cutter into some flour, then press into the dough, twisting as you press down. Repeat this process for each scone. You can gather extra bits of dough up into another ball, then flatten and repeat to get a couple extra scones out of the batch.
• Brush scones lightly with milk, then bake for 20-24 minutes or until they are golden brown and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean.
• While the scones are cooling, in a small bowl combine the confectioners sugar with the coffee. Mix until you can’t see any little lumps of sugar. Then drizzle over the scones and allow 10-15 minutes for the glaze to set. (Of course, you don’t have to wait for the glaze to set, you can just gobble these right up if you want!)
• Sprinkle some flaked almonds on the wet-glaze if you like.