Friday Feast | Valentines and Chocolate

Welcome back to Friday Feast in the tavern! Please forgive the long absence, dear friends. With the additional family caregiving duties, I've temporarily taken a step back here and in my writing. My word for this year is HOPE. I adore this word and one that's powerful when those days appear dark. So hopefully, I'll soon get back to Gunnar and Maeve's story. They are patiently awaiting my return to their world.

Yet for now, I'll celebrate this special day of love with a chocolate (definitely a must on this day) recipe I'm making for Valentine's Day. As most of you know, the core of my stories is all about finding love. An ingredient in all of my books. An ingredient I would not be able to use if not for the special love in my life.

This week, my knight and I celebrated our 42nd wedding anniversary. It was a lovely, quiet day—a day to cherish like all the others. No longer do we look down the road of tomorrows. Each day is a new adventure of possibilities. Tomorrow will take care of itself.

I’m wishing you all a day and weekend filled with love. Cherish the love in your heart and spread it fully to those around you and beyond. Valentine's Day is one for everyone. And if you need to curl up with a beautiful romance filled with love, I can highly recommend any one of my stories for a cozy weekend read.

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CHOCOLATE ORANGE SCONES

Ingredients

2/3 cup heavy cream or buttermilk

1 large egg

3 cups all-purpose flour

4 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

8 tablespoons (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut up

1 cup fresh dark chocolate chips (I use 70% or higher dark chocolate)

½ cup sugar

2 teaspoons freshly grated orange peel (I use the peel of one medium orange)

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. 

Measure heavy cream or buttermilk in a 2-cup glass measure; beat in egg with a fork.

Put flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl. Whisk or stir to mix well. Add the 8 tablespoons butter and cut in with a pastry blender or rub in with your fingers, until the mixture looks like fine granules.

Add chocolate chips, sugar, and orange peel. Toss lightly to distribute evenly. Add liquid mixture. Stir with a fork until a soft dough forms.

Turn out dough onto a lightly floured board and give 6 to 10 kneads, just until well mixed. Cut in half. Form each half into a ball and cut out 6 - 8 wedges, depending on the size you want. Do the same with the second ball of dough. Place scones on baking sheet(s) with parchment paper.

Bake 15-20 minutes, or until light brown. Remove to a wire rack.

Sláinte, mo chairde!