SUNDAY BRUNCH: CRANBERRY SCONES and YEASTED WAFFLES

Hands up…who loves Sunday Brunch? 



Oh how I love me a sparkling delicate mimosa for brunch.  It’s the only time early in the day when it’s actually acceptable to have a bit o’ booze!  Not that I drink much, but a mimosa sure is yummy.

I love brunch.  I love to have people over for brunch because it’s a relaxing way to linger over your coffee and chit chat.  It’s more civilized than breakfast.  It’s not quite lunch but if you linger enough, you’re well into the time-frame.

My last brunch was a gluten free success.  I made cranberry scones employing Thomas Keller's new gf flour blend Cup4Cup.  The scones recipe was from America’s Test Kitchen.  I think they turned out well and I even froze some for future use. 

The yeasted waffle batter is allowed to sit on the counter overnight.  Mine expanded so much that it touched the plastic wrap.  I gave the bowl rap and it promptly fell back down.  I didn’t want the batter to ooze all over my new kitchen counter!

The next morning, you mix in 2 eggs to the waffle batter and follow manufacturer’s instructions for using the waffle iron. 

I made yeasted waffles (gf) that looked gorgeous.  They were a bit too yeasty in flavour for me, but I guess that could be fixed.  The yeasted batter is allowed to sit overnight on the counter to ferment.  I think that it doesn’t need so much fermentation.  Perhaps I may cut back on the amount of yeast next time.  They were light and airy but I think the yeast was not necessarily better but different.

 
To  balance out our meal, we had hash (bacon, peppers, potatoes, egg), sausages and fresh fruit.

Yup, that’s frozen prepared hash from Costco (freezer section).  You just cook it up and toss some eggs in.
  
I thought the scones looked amazing.  As a Canadian, I am appalled by the size of American scones (especially from Starbucks).  They are ginormous!   I cut my scones in half and that was plenty for me.  I think also that scones should be light and not doughy.   More often than not when you buy scones, they are dry and look like bricks.  They are not served with clotted cream and fine preserves either.   If you want a taste of a really good scone,  go to High Tea, where you will most likely experience a truly good British-styled scone, which just so happens to be smaller, daintier, light and flaky like a biscuit and buttery tender.

Prepare your scones the night before.  Scones can be made ahead up to this point:  brushed with melted butter and sprinkled with sugar.  Then cover them and put them in the refrigerator until ready to bake. 

In the morning, you remove the plastic wrap and bake. 

Practically everything was made the night before so that there was minimal work to do in the morning before your guests arrive for brunch.  If you time it right, the scones will come out of the oven just at the right time...nice and hot.