Last weekend, I hosted an afternoon tea for my local chapter of Romance Writers of America. Ancient City Romance Authors (ACRA) installed new officers and recognized its authors for their accomplishments during the past year. After the business part was completed, we got down to more serious matters like eating and catching up with fellow authors’ lives.
It was so much fun visiting with friends I hadn’t seen in a while. I hope you’ll try and enjoy a few of the recipes we had at the afternoon tea.
Basic Scones
2 Cups flour
1 T. baking powder
2 T. sugar
½ tsp. salt
6 T. butter
½ C buttermilk
Lightly beaten egg
Mix dry ingredients. Cut in 6 tablespoons butter until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. Make a well in the center and pour in buttermilk. If you don’t have buttermilk, use regular milk. Mix until dough clings together and is a bit sticky-do not over mix. Turn out dough onto a surface and shape into a 6-to-8 inch round about 1 ½ inches thick. Quickly cut into pie wedge or use a large round biscuit cutter to cut circles.
The secret of tender scones is a minimum of handling. Place on ungreased cookie sheet, being sure the sides of scones don’t touch each other. Brush with egg for a shiny, brown scones. Bake at 425 degrees for 10 to 20 minutes, or until light brown.
Devonshire Cream
5 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 C heavy cream, whipped
1 T. heavy cream, reserved
½ C confectioner’s sugar, sifted
In medium sized bowl, beat softened cream cheese, sugar, and 1 T reserved cream with hand mixer until smooth.
With rubber spatula, fold in whipped cream. Do not over mix (should be lumpy). Store in airtight container for up to 2 days. Makes 2 cups.
White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Balls
½ 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
¼ C butter softened
16 ounce package powdered sugar
8 ounce package flaked coconut
¾ cup finely chopped macadamia nuts
16 ounce package white chocolate candy coating
Mix condensed milk, butter, powdered sugar and coconut together. Add chopped nuts. Mixture will be very soft. Cover and chill several hours or overnight. Shape into small balls. Melt chocolate coating according to package directions. Dip balls into chocolate and place on wax paper to harden. Store in cool place or freeze. Makes 50 candies.
Dolores’ Chicken Salad
4 cups cubed, cooked chicken
1 cup chopped celery
3 green onions, sliced
½ cup chopped pecans
½ tsp. salt
1 cup mayonnaise
½ cup heavy whipping cream, whipped
Mix chicken, celery, onions, pecans, and salt. Fold mayonnaise into whipped cream and combine with chicken mixture. Chill for at least 1 hour.
Garnish with grapes.
Enjoy!
DivaDolores
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