I was one of those few lucky kids who got to live with their grandparents for several years. My mother's parents moved in with my mom, dad, sister and me when my grandfather was having some health issues. Children are usually spoiled by their grandparents, but it takes on a whole new level when they spend each day with you. It was if I had two additional parents; two additional hearts to love and care for me.
Although we frustrated each other at times (we lived with them during our preteens - we were the worst), and there were definitely some cross-generational misunderstandings, I would not trade a second of the time I got to spend with them. They have taught me a great deal about life, love and respect that I will carry with me always. So this blog post is dedicated to them. I love you Grandma and Grandpa and I miss you every day.
So getting to the recipe...although I respect my grandma's recipe, I did make a couple of changes. Her's called for raisins and walnuts. When I went to the store to purchase these items, I noticed that the walnuts were pretty expensive (I already went over my wine budget this week, so I had to cut back somewhere..). However, right next to the nuts were some really nice packages of granola. One in particular had both slivered almonds and dried cranberries in it; it was also vanilla flavored. This sounded like a wonderful substitution and a large package was less than a bag of walnuts alone. So my hand obviously passed over the walnuts and snatched up the granola instead. If you're super ambitious, you can make your own granola to incorporate into this recipe. I was NOT ambitious this weekend. Maybe I'll try it when I'm retired like my grandma and grandpa were ;)
That was the only change. I followed the rest to the "T." I did make my own buttermilk, though, because they don't make small containers of it and I always end up throwing the remainder out when it goes bad. To make your own buttermilk, using a cup ratio, pour just under one cup of milk into your measuring cup. Then top it with two tablespoons of either white vinegar or lemon juice. Let it sit for a while before you incorporate it into your recipe so it has time to "merry" or "do it's thing" (not sure of the correct terminology for this).
The scones turned out nicely! I ended up making mini ones because, when I rolled the dough out to 3/4 of an inch as the recipe called for, it didn't look like there was enough to make 14-16 servings - also stated in the original recipe. So keep this in mind when you're baking!
A lot of memories flooded back to me while I was making this recipe. Although I changed a couple of things, I hope I made my grandma proud!
Grandma Giannini's Scones - With a Sweet Tooth Twist!
2 cups flour
2 tbs sugar
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 lemon peel, grated
1/2 cup butter, cut into chunks
1 - 1.5 cups granola of your choice
3/4 cup buttermilk
Additional buttermilk, sugar and granola
1.) In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt and grated lemon peel.
2.) With a pastry blender or two knives, cut in butter until mixture resembles course meal.
3.) Mix in granola. Then mix in the buttermilk with a fork.
4.) Gather the dough into a ball and knead for about 2 minutes on a lightly floured surface.
5.) Roll or pat out the dough until it is about 3/4 of an inch thick.
6.) With a chef's knife, cut into triangles (between 2-3 inches in size) and place them spaced about 1 inch apart on a greased baking sheet
7.) Brush the tops with the additional buttermilk and sprinkle with sugar and more granola.
8.) Bake in the center of a 425 degree oven for about 15 minutes or until nicely (golden) brown. Serve warm.
Makes 14-16 scones
The scones look delicious. can't wait to try them
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