Happy birthday to my brother!
and Happy April Fool’s Day to the rest of you!
This is a joke I played on my friend Kim a couple of years ago. A hundred parking tickets.
We had our nephew Brian and his GF over for dinner some time ago, and I cooked a roast pork tenderloin dish that I hadn’t made in a very long time (sadly, I didn’t take any photos and now I know better than to post a recipe without photos ;-), so I’ll have to make it again in the near future). The pork was dressed in a flavourful Apple Cider and Dijon Mustard gravy for which I had to buy fresh Apple Cider. In my area, fresh Apple Cider is sold in 500 mL or larger and because I only needed a couple of cups of the stuff, I bought the 500 mL. So now I had about 4 cups left over. Now we could have drank it, because it was fresh and delicious, but I prefer to eat my fruit rather than drink it so I was left with the dilemma of what to do with all the cider.
I searched high and low and came across some lovely options but not practical; we don’t eat that much cake so a coffee cake was out of the question, we don’t usually eat that many quick breads, so that was out of the question, and the muffin recipes I found had too much oil in them and therefore quite unhealthy. What to do?
It was in my trusty Jean Paré’s, Company’s Coming, Muffins & More cookbook I found the solution: Tea Biscuits! Now I modified the recipe to include the Apple Cider which I reduced by less than 1/4 of its original volume and these scones did not disappoint; they were soft, buttery and had a very distinct apple cider flavour. This would be a lovely scone to serve during Autumn while you watch the leaves gently fall from the trees with a warm fire burning in the hearth a cup of tea and a couple of scones. Soon enough!
Apple Cider Tea Biscuits
Makes about 10 good size tea biscuits
Ingredients:
- 2 cups flour
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 1/8 tsp ground cloves
- 1/2 cup unsalted cold butter, cut into small bits
- 1/4 cup sultana raisins
- 4 cups apple cider
- 2-3 tbsp milk or yogurt for brushing the tops.
Directions:
- Reduce the apple cider to about 1 cup of concentrated liquid by slowly boiling it off (takes about 40-50 minutes).
- Pre-heat the oven to 450°F (232°C).
- In a food processor, pulse the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, cream of tartar and spices until well mixed.
- Slowly drop in the cold butter while pulsing and blend until is it a coarse mix.
- Transfer this mix into another bowl, add the raisins and mix well to coat the raisins with the floury mixture.
- Add the cider all at once to the flour, and mix well with a wooden spoon mix until it is a soft ball of dough. (Note this is a slightly softer ball of dough than a tea biscuit usually is).
- Transfer to a floured board and knead a couple of times (not enough to melt the butter with the heat of your hands).
- Roll out the dough to about 2 cm (~3/4″) thick and cut with a triangular cookie cutter. Repeat until the dough is completely used.
- Place on a parchment lined cookie sheet and brush tops with the yogurt or milk (for a beautiful shine) and bake 10-12 minutes until golden. You’ll need to watch the bottoms because the natural colour of these biscuits are more golden and you will only be able to tell how far along they are by looking at the bottoms.
- Cool slightly on a wire rack and serve with unsalted butter and preserves.
- Enjoy.
I love the warming flavours in these lovely apple cider tea biscuits! Spring has seemed colder than usual this year, especially with the huge ice storm here this week. Baking these would definitely cheer me up!
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Thanks Amber, it definitely had a very nice tang to it.
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They look like very delectable aplle cider scones! They look just stunning! A very new recipe for me to try! Waw, even! 🙂
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Thanks Sophie, if you enjoy the tang of apple cider, these scones are right for you.
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One ticket would have been enough to send me throw the roof…but hey I’m like that. 🙂
Usually I’d complain about you “restricting” how much I consumed of something as delicious sounding as these biscuits, but I’m training for a marathon now and need to cut back. One for me with my morning coffee and I’m a happy man.
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Yes, that’s the thing about parking tickets, some people are careless and park where ever not considering the charges (another friend’s ex collects about two grand of parking tickets a year!!!). I’m a bit more like you, so if I do get one, it really makes me angry because I’m not careless, I just may have gone over the time by a couple of minutes!
That’s fantastic to train for a marathon Jed, which one and how long is it? I’ve never run in a marathon before, but have thought about it. Good luck to you, I’ll be cheering for you!
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I’ll be running the Marine Corps Marathon in October. 26.2 miles (42.195 km) and it will be documented for the site…I think 🙂
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Wow, that’s incredible Jed, I wish you well.
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LOL! The parking ticket prank is hilarious! I wonder how she payed you back for that one! Those tea biscuits with the cider flavor sound magical
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Thanks Jessica, the following year she brought in about a dozen different tops and every time she went to the ladies room, she put a different top on. I didn’t even notice because we were so busy, so the joke was really on her! But it was the thought that counts! Thank you for your kind words regarding the biscuits.
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Eva, your biscuits are beautiful and I will try to remember the excellent way to use up apple cider. I often have this problem with fruit juices (I don’t drink fruit juice… I prefer a glass of wine 😉 ) and beers, so maybe they could work in a similar way…
Excellent joke! I must try it next year on someone…
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Thank you kindly Sissi, I agree, I prefer to eat my fruit rather than drink it, unless of course it is in the form of fermented grape juice ;-)!
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Hehehehe I love the joke. I think I need to try that on my husband!
I love baking scones, there is something so soothing about making them and ofcourse eating them lol
Yours look heavenly Eva
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Thanks Sawsan, yes it is indeed a funny prank!
I still recall your wonderful recipe for the scones that didn’t have much butter in them, yet they were so flaky and buttery!
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LOL that’s so funny! I would have totally believed the tickets were for real given how voracious our parking inspectors are 😛 Gorgeous looking biscuits too!
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Thanks Lorraine, our parking inspectors are relentless too; in fact, I believe they are Police Officers in training so I think they particularly go for ‘mean’ classes!
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In all the years I’ve lived in Australia, the only apple cider is in the grocery store and it’s alcoholic. I wonder how that would be in these gorgeous biscuits?
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Hmmm alcoholic cider in biscuits? It’s probably not nearly thick enough, and most of our alcoholic ciders are sparkling so I don’t think it would work, but if you try it, please let me know what you think.
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I would have loved to see the expression on their face when they walked out to see their car decorated in parking tickets. I love scones and your recipe sounds divine and your photos are so inviting. I wish they had apple cider in HK but they don’t even around harvest time. Do you think I could swap out for apple juice?
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Hi Bam, because you’re boiling down the cider for concentrated flavour, I think the juice might work too, although it won’t be nearly as thick.
Yes, the parking tickets were a good gag!
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A happy birthday to your brother and that ticket joke is priceless!
Your pork dish sounds wonderful, Eva. Apples and pork go so well together and an apple flavored sauce would be the perfect accompaniment. I’ve enjoyed scones but never attempted to bake my own. These, though, would be a great treat in the Fall — and give me something to do with the excess cider. Like you, I wish they would sell the stuff in more manageable amounts.
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Hi John, thanks so much for the lovely wishes, I’ll pass them along. Yes the apple cider made a lovely sauce for the pork, I really must get on that and post it one day. We all have these recipes we make all the time and see no need to post, but we really do! Hope you have a great week.
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Spiced apple is such a comforting flavour. I love how you have cut these into triangles, I can’t say I’ve ever had a triangle scone before. I made some round cheese scones the other week. When I think about it, I really should make scones to fit the containers we have. May as well!
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Thank you kindly Genie. I used a triangle cutter because many recipes suggest baking them in a round cast frying pan and slicing them into pie shaped slices so I thought it would be fun. I’ve made square and round ones before too, it doesn’t change the flavour but it’s fun.
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P.S. Love the parking ticket gag! So clever!
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Thanks Kristy. It was fun.
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I love anything with apple cider Eva. These scones would no doubt be a winner for me. I’ve yet to make scones. Perhaps this fall I’ll give these a try. They do look perfect for curling by a fire with a good book. (Not that the kids ever let me have time for that – ha!)
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Thanks Kristy, they had a lovely little zing to them from the concentrated cider; and to be honest, I dolloped a large pat of butter on mine and mmmmmm, it was so good. It’ll be soon enough your kids will be buried in their electronic distractions (we had lunch with my brother’s family up in Rosseau at the Marriott on Friday and neither kid looked up the entire time!)
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LOL! I know that day will come. 😉
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I cooked pork with an apple cider gravy for Easter this year too. And sadly, I didn’t take any photos. It was such a great dish that I’ll cook it again as I want to blog it – you can then compare it with your pork dish. I love how you used the cider in this biscuits xx
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Thanks Charlie, yes the cider does pair very well with the pork; my cider sauce also has a touch of Dijon which adds a lovely zing to it. I look forward to your recipe, and will try to remember to take photos and post mine soon.
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It looks rich and healthy. Thanks for sharing.
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Yes, in comparison to some other recipes, this one has a lot less butter in it. Thank you for dropping by.
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In baking everything has to be very precise without exceeding the ingredients. Anyway practice makes us better. Thanks. A hug.
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I would’ve been so freaked out with all those tickets, lol….Happy birthday to your brother! These alone look like a great present—truly does look melt in your mouth!
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Thanks so much SM, I’ll pass along your lovely wishes.
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The joke is a genius, hahaha!!
I LOVE the scones, and I am so making these. Yummm!!
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Thanks so much Minnie, yes the joke was funny but sadly my friend didn’t know it was me, she actually thought it was the real parking police; I guess I made the tickets a little too realistic.
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LOL..a hundred tickets..if that was not a joke…Happy Birthday to your brother.
These biscuits look moutwhatering, Eva.
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Thanks Angie, I bet this recipe would work with spelt flour. Thanks you for your lovely wishes for my brother, I shall pass along the good wishes to him.
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Eva I hate practical jokes, everyone who knows me knows never to put ketchup in my slippers. Practical jokes are mostly abusive, but this one I could have laughed at, it was SO obviously a prank. One or two would have been scary, but a hundred? Hahaha. I bet your nephews love you and think you are fabulous.
The biscuits look delicious, but now what will you do with the rest? Have you thought of making a low sugar jelly from it?
And are there any scones left?
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I’m with you Zsuzsa, most practical jokes are hurtful, but I did have some fun with this one. Sadly Kim didn’t figure out it was me, but it did perplex her.
Oh that jelly sounds perfect, but I had used up the cider with the scones. I’ll keep that idea in mind next time I have extra.
No scones left, I gave the remainder to my BFs husband because he enjoyed them so much and I didn’t want them in the house.
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Fresh apple cider sounds delicious. They always have jugs at the city market but for some reason I keep passing by. Maybe next time I go I could grab one and make these delicious tasting scones.
Although on these cold nights I might be tempted to make a hot toddy with the leftover apple cider and some spiced rum. This tequila based drink uses exactly 4 cups.
http://gonewengland.about.com/gi/o.htm?zi=1/XJ&zTi=1&sdn=gonewengland&cdn=travel&tm=19&f=20&su=p531.60.342.ip_&tt=2&bt=7&bts=7&zu=
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Thank you kindly Maria. I’m with you about the warming drinks, we had a bit of snow this morning and all I could think of is how sick I am of winter. Damn groundhog lied again.
By the way, the link doesn’t work.
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Sorry, for that. It’s here as well. Instead of tequila, vodka is also recommended.
http://www.food.com/recipe/cider-and-tequila-hot-toddy-49248
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Thanks Maria, that sure does look tasty.
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I will take 2 with coffee please. Happy Birthday to your brother. Still waiting for spring so lets not think about fall.
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Hi Norma yes, of course, coming right up! I will pass along your good wishes to my brother. We had a bit of snow this morning, I am SO READY for spring.
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Eva, you’re hilarious! Love the parking tickets!! You know, one of my fondest memories of my dad was how he would always manage to pull one over on us on April 1st… we should have seen it coming but he always succeeded in duping us in the weirdest and most surprising ways. How did Kim react?
No need to wait for fall to enjoy these delightful biscuits in my books. I would savour them as I watch the snow melt and wash away 😉 (yay spring). The apple cider is so unique here and I’m especially curious about the flavour coming through in the cooked version – sounds like a must try. They look lovely too Eva. Happy birthday to your brother – enjoy!
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What a lovely memory, Kelly, I hope you will tell us a story about the pranks. Kim was perplexed, apparently I made the tickets a little too realistic and she actually thought it was the REAL parking police playing a trick on her! Last year she played a little trick on me, changing her top every time she went to the ladies room; we were so busy, I never noticed!
We had a bit of snow this morning, and I am really ready for spring. Thank you for your kind words Kelly, I will relay your lovely message to my brother.
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Our southern friends are just going into the fall season and should enjoy this recipe.
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Hi Karen, they are actually good any old time, but for some reason I always think of fall when I think of apple cider.
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I know what you mean. If we have friends staying with us late in the apple season, we usually will go into our orchard and pick a bushel or two and press cider. There is nothing better. You know I’ll be saving your recipe. 🙂
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Why thank you kindly Karen.
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Bite your tongue over that fall comment Eva — I can’t bare to think of fall yet. These scones look like they would be good in any season!
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Yes, time flies fast enough, doesn’t it. And they were indeed lovely with a nice little bite from the concentrated cider.
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Haha I bet she was scared 😀
And these melt in the mouth scones, I think I am in love with this recipe!
Cheers
CCU
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Thanks CCU, she was rather perplexed, it was fun. Thank you for your lovely compliment on the scones.
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