Sensational scones

Today has been officially declared 'sleep, cold-medication, reading, blog-catch-up, lesson plan' day. :) 
I posted this picture on Facebook of some scones I made, and many expressed interest in acquiring the recipe, so here it is. Do enjoy! :)

Blueberry Coffeecake Scones

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour                                1/4 cup milk

1/2 cup sugar                                                      1 teaspoon vanilla 

2 teaspoons baking powder                                1/4 teaspoon grated lemon peel

1/2 teaspoon salt                                                 1 1/2 cups fresh or thawed, drained frozen blueberries

1/2 cup unsalted butter, chilled                           1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

2 large eggs                                                         dash of all-spice or cinnamon

crumb topping

3/4 cup all-purpose flour                                      1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar              1/4 cup unsalted butter, chilled 

Preheat oven to 375* and grease a large baking sheet.

In a large bowl, stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut the butter into 1/2 inch cubes and distribute them over the flour mixture. With a pastry blender or two knives used scissor fashion, cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. In a small bowl, stir together the eggs, milk, vanilla, and lemon peel. Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and stir to combine. The dough will be sticky. With lightly floured hands, gently knead in the blueberries until evenly distributed.

Pat the dough into a 9-inch diameter circle in the center of the prepared baking sheet.

To prepare the topping, in a small bowl stir together the flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Cut the butter into 1/2 inch cubes and distribute them over the flour mixture. With a pastry blender, cut in the butter until it resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle the topping mixture evenly over the dough to cover. Press the crumb topping lightly into the dough. With a serrated knife, cut the circle into 8 wedges. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until the top is lightly browned and a cake tested inserted into the center of scone cones out clean. (Often takes up to 45 min. to completely bake thoroughly.) 

Remove the baking sheet to a wire rack and cool for 15 minutes. Recut into wedges, if necessary. Freezes well. 

Makes 8 large scones. 

Enjoy this favorite! It's absolutely delicious with a cup of fresh, hot, mint tea. :) 

Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-jU-Ly and ZOOlogy

Christmas in JULY!! (hooray, everyone)

a time to turn the air down, 

listen to the Carpenter's Christmas Portrait, 

the Chipmunk's,  and dream of cooler

days in the not-so-far-away future. 

Ahhhh. 

At least...that's what I did. 

just for fun!

 *We now return to our regularly scheduled program.*

Now to the real reason for this post: 
I'm dreadfully behind on this whole 'blogging' thing, 
for which I genuinely apologize. :) 
To make up for it, here is a photographic recap of my day trip to the Asheboro Zoo 
the last week in July with some fun friends. :) Enjoy!
More posts to come. 

Asheboro Zoo- beautiful landscaping

Sneaky gators- first stop. I love the mirror affect in this pic.

Erica (L) and Fleming (R, special needs girl) having fun in the Eskimo cave!

One of my favorites: the huge polar bear. 

Beautiful flowers at the honey bee's.

No zoo visit is complete without 3-4 rides on the carousel. :)

Beautiful orchids in Africa.

"Swamp Ghosts," white alligators.

Incredible flowers and foliage in Africa.

Never seen anything quite like this. 

The ostrich's were so cool!

Adorable 'baby' giraffe.

and...my favorite picture of the day! Love it when nature allows
us to get close. 

Erica, me, and Fleming. (Ms. Barbara was the photographer.)
Fun was had by all, even in 108* summer weather! :)


That's all for now, folks...exciting new posts later!