I received the cookbook Baking with Whole Grains by Valerie Baer for Christmas and let me tell you Bob, it’s a keeper. Valerie is the Aunt of my friend JJ and mother to my friend Zoë {who is JJ’s cousin} so I was super excited to crack open my copy and pick one of her recipes to try today. We are having pot roast tonight and I thought her tomato feta scones would be a perfect accompaniment.
The internet is a funny thing. Back in 2009 one of the first blogs I discovered was JJ’s. We chatted back and forth in the comment sections of each other’s blogs for 2 years. Then, in 2011 I flew across the country to attend her pie party. Later, in 2014, The Girl and I were visiting Lancaster County, Pennsylvania and we ended up spending the night at her cousin Zoë’s farm under a pile of handmade quilts. Although I knew Zoë from online, that was the first time I had met her in person.
And later this month, I’ll be heading back to Lancaster County to teach Zoë and her mom Valerie how to hook a rug. Why? Because Valerie left a comment on one of my instagram posts a while back asking if I’d show her how, and I said yes. Simple as that.
The internet, it’s crazy. Even though we live thousands of miles away from each other, somehow, we are all still able to connect. I’m hoping when I’m there, Valerie will teach me more about cooking with whole grains. 😉
Okay, so back to the scones. They were freakin’ AWESOME. I ate 2 for lunch. Here’s my {slightly adapted version} from Valerie’s new cookbook Cooking with Whole Grains.
The Best Ever Tomato Feta Scones with Spinach
Ingredients
1 1/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. sugar
4 tbsp unsalted butter, cold
3/4 cup feta cheese crumbles
1/2 cup reconstituted sundried tomatoes, chopped
1/2 cup spinach, chopped {not in the original recipe but I decided to add some in}
1 tbsp. bacon grease or olive oil
1/3 cup walnuts, chopped {optional}
1/2 cup buttermilk {how to make buttermilk}
1 large egg
Instructions
In a small skillet saute spinach in bacon grease or olive oil and set aside.
In a large bowl combine the flours, baking powder, baking soda and sugar. Grate the cold butter into the flour mixture and using a fork, cut it in.
Add the cheese, tomatoes, spinach and walnuts.
In a separate bowl whisk together the egg and buttermilk and then add it to the flour mixture. Fold the ingredients together with a spatula until the dough is nice and stiff.
Toss a little whole wheat flour onto your kitchen counter. Turn the dough out onto the floured surface, pat it down into a 1″ thick circle then use a dough scraper to cut the dough into 1/8ths.
Place the scones on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake at 400 degrees for 10 -15 minutes or until nice and golden.
Serve Warm.
Baking with Whole Grains… go check it out. It’s awesome.
~Mavis
Connie says
Oh wow … these sound delish! And they’re so pretty. Never made scones before but I’m sure gonna give this recipe a whirl! 🙂
Mavis says
And pretty is half the battle! 🙂
Lauralli says
I’m jealous about the rug making tutorial! I want to come, too! Any chance you’ll be offering a “Hooking Camp”? I’d come all the way from Arkansas!
Hannah says
I found the dough to be very dry and crumbly, leading to a scone that was quite dry. How to best remedy this? Add more milk?
Mavis Butterfield says
Sure, it can’t hurt.
Peggy says
Hey ~ I can’t wait to try this recipe, it looks scrumptious! I’ll put this cookbook on my wish list as well. My mom always told me it’s best to eat as ‘close to the ground as possible’, meaning less processed everything. 🙂 And Lancaster County, what’s not to love, it’s such a beautiful part of the state. 🙂
Jen says
Can’t wait to try them–I live in Lancaster County–you should teach a class while you’re here–I’ll sign up!!
Mavis Butterfield says
I bet you could get Valerie to teach a class. She lives in Lancaster County. 🙂
Shari says
Any chance you could post a printable link to just the recipe and photo, Mavis?
Mavis Butterfield says
When you click on the printer icon below, just tick the box that says IMAGES, then tick remove all images and it will remove them for you and just print out the text. I hope that helps.