Oatmeal, Scones, and a little Giveaway

Ever since I started baking scones, I have formed the habit of collecting scones recipes whenever I chance upon them.

This particular recipe caught my eye right away as the scones are made with some oatmeal. I like the idea of baking with oatmeal, somehow it makes the baked goods appear more healthy. It is only recently that I began introducing oatmeal into our daily diet...especially for myself and my better half. I think we really need the help from this nutritious food at our age!

So, what's so great about oatmeal?
1. Oatmeal 'soaks up' the Bad cholesterol and gets rid of it from your body, without affecting the good cholesterol.
2. All the nutrients in oatmeal are good for you heart.
3. Oatmeal also helps you lose weight! It is high in fiber but low in fat, and it stays in you stomach longer and hence reduces any cravings for snacks or junk food.
Besides all these, it is also a good source of nutrition to help children grow strong and healthy.

Oatmeal is a perfect morning meal for me as I usually have my breakfast at 6am, and by mid-morning I am tortured with constant cravings for food to keep me going before lunch! By having just a small bowl of oatmeal, it will keep me full for the rest of the morning. This helps to cut down on unwanted calories from snacks or junk food. However, I have not really acquired the taste for this miracle food. The truth is, I find the texture too sticky, chewy and slimy! Even though I started with instant baby roll oats (with no added sugar ), which is smaller and thus less chewy, I still finds it hard to have it for breakfast every other day. While my elder child has no problem finishing up one bowl, my younger one turned his nose up and has since named the bowl of gooey stuff...'the yucky porridge'. I guess it will take a long while before I could advance to regular, old fashioned, roll oats (^_^")

Contrary to the undesirable taste of eating oatmeal on its own, using it for baking creates a nice texture to the bakes. I have since been using oatmeal to bake cookies, scones and even muffins. Sprinkling some rolled oats on a bread dough just before it goes into the oven will not only magically transform it to a rustic looking loaf of bread, but also provide that little extra fiber in your diet.

As usual, I baked these scones with my younger child. Like me, he enjoys playing with flour and sink his hands into a pile of soft dough. He loves to help me with the sifting...an activity which usually lands up with more flour on the table and kitchen floor than the mixing bowl!

These scones are a perfect breakfast treat, of course they also taste delicious any time with tea or coffee. However, do not expect a very soft and fluffy texture compared to scones that are made with buttermilk (an ingredient which really helps in making lighter and tender baked goods). While scones are usually served with jam or clotted cream, however, if we do run out of homemade jam, we are fine eating them plain.

The tricky part about baking scones is how to serve them warm, freshly baked, early in the morning. Unlike muffins, scones only taste best on the day they are baked. Even if you were to warm any 'left over-night' scones in the oven before serving, they just don't taste as good. My way of getting around the problem is to make the dough the night before, usually on a Friday night, and keep the dough, cling wrapped, in the fridge. The next morning, while the oven is preheating, I'll finish up with the remaining steps of cutting the dough into wedges and brushing the top with milk and they are ready to get into the oven. In less than half an hour, my family gets to wake up to a nice aroma of scones baking in the oven, and the 'gurgling' sound of coffee brewing in my coffee maker. What a great way to welcome the weekend, and this also happens to be one of the many precious moments in my life :)

Here's one good news!

To thank frequent visitors to my blog, I am doing a little giveaway! I used to do little giveaways 'privately', especially during my blog anniversaries, by giving away cookie cutters, bottles of vanilla extracts to a handful of blogger pals. This time I would like to make it a public event and extend it to the rest of you.

I got my better half to get me one extra bottle (4 oz) of Nielsen-Massey's Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla extract on his recent trip to the States. So this is the little gift that will be given to one lucky reader. The only restrictions is, you need to have a  local (Singapore) mailing address, or an address in Malaysia, because it really doesn't make sense if the postage comes up to be more expensive than the gift itself.

If you are interested to participate in this giveaway, just leave your comment with this tag: 'I'll love to have it!' before 5 July and I will use an online randomizer, to pick the lucky reader. (Note: You need not leave your email address in your comments, I am worried your email address may get spammed.)

All that I ask from the winner is...bake something with the vanilla extract and share it with your families and friends :)

Cranberry Oatmeal Scones

Ingredients:
(makes 6 ~ 8 scones)

200g cake flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons caster sugar
one pinch of salt
65g unsalted butter, cold, cut into small cubes
30g instant oatmeal (I used instant baby rolled oats)
100ml milk (I used low-fat fresh milk)
50g dried cranberries (or raisins)
some orange juice or water for soaking

Method:

1. Cover dried cranberries (or raisins) with some orange juice (or water) and soak for 10mins. Drain well and set it aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl, sift together cake flour and baking powder. Mix in sugar and salt. With finger tips rub the cold butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. (It is important that the butter be cold so when it is cut into the flour mixture it becomes small, flour-coated crumbs. I use a fork to work the butter into the dry ingredients. If the butter starts to melt away during this process, stop and place the mixture in the freezer for 10-15 mins to prevent the butter from melting further. Continue the process when the mixture is well chilled.
3. Mix in the oatmeal and dried cranberries.
4. Make a well in the centre and add in milk. Stir with a spatula until just combined. The mixture will be sticky, moist and lumpy. Gather up the mixture and place it on a lightly floured surface and give it a few light kneading (not more than 10 seconds) so that it comes together to form a dough. Do Not over work the dough. (Only mix the dough until it comes together. Too much kneading will cause gluten to develop, and the resulting scones will turn hard and chewy. Knead only until the ingredients come together into a combined mass.)
5. Pat the dough into a round disc about 3/4 inch thickness. With a sharp knife cut the dough into 6 wedges (cur into 8 wedges for smaller scones).
6. Place scones on baking sheet (lined with parchment paper), space them apart. Brush the tops with some milk.
7. Bake in preheated oven at 200 degC for about 12- 15 minutes or until they are well risen and the tops are a light golden brown. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool. Serve warm.

Recipe source:adapted from Smile! 幸福小点心, 山王丸由利绘