Toffee-Coffee Pecan Scones with a Kahlua Glaze

In two weeks I will be back in the States cooking up a storm. But until then, I will continue to enjoy my days here in Macedonia with my family, and you will continue to enjoy the guest-posts of some of my favorite bloggers!

Few months ago I was asked by the magnificent Chef Dennis to guest-post for him on his amazing then blog, More Than a Mountfull, now A Culinary Journey with Chef Dennis. I admit, I was soooo nervous and super-excited back then because I was just a newbie to this world of food blogging and here was the brilliant Chef Dennis asking me to guest post for him! WOOOOHOOOO! Calm down Kat, calm down…phewwww.

I am now thrilled to announce that Chef Dennis is going to share his amazing talent with us, today, here on Diethood!

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I would like to say hi to all of Kate’s readers, for those of you that don’t know me, I’m Chef Dennis. I’m so happy to be here today with you, and to say I was excited to help Kate out while she was in Macedonia would be an understatement! I’m a big fan of Diethood, and consider it an honor to be allowed to share your blog today.

I always say I’m not a very good baker, but I love to bake. I think the only thing that saves me is that I love to eat baked goods, so that gives me the incentive to be successful..lol

This is only my second attempt at scones, and I think these came out so much better than my first batch and cutting them into individual scones made all the difference allowing more edges to get crunchy! What I did learn from this process is that after you cut them and brush them with cream, you need to refrigerate the cut pieces to allow the dough to firm up a bit before heading into the oven. My scones spread a little bit and I don’t think they would have if the dough had been cold.

So that’s my tip!

I also was fortunate enough to have some wonderful coffee pecans, that my friend Mike from Amelia’s Spicing Pecans sent to me, and they are delicious! Check out his Facebook page and say hi, Mike is a great guy with a great product! It’s amazing what I can find in my pantry, and I had a half a bag of toffee pieces (I think I ate the other half as a snack one night…sigh) and I thought they would be the perfect complement to the coffee flavors, and let me tell you I was right! Top it all off with that wonderful Kahlua glaze, throw in an espresso or coffee, and you’re gonna be good to go for the rest of the morning! Sugar and caffeine can be a wonderful thing!

Seriously they were really good, crunchy on the outside and tender and moist on the inside, a definite success, so give them a try and let me know how you like them!

Toffee-Coffee Pecan Scones with a Kahlua Glaze

You will need:

2 cups all-purpose Flour
1 tbsp. Baking Powder
1 tsp. espresso powder
½ tsp. Salt
6 tbsp. Sugar
Zest of one Lemon
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes
½ cup Heavy Cream
½ cup Greek Yogurt (plain or Vanilla)
½ cup coffee pecans (or regular pecans)
½ cup toffee pieces

Kahlua Glaze

Ingredients:

2 cups confectioners’ sugar
2 Tbsp. Kahlua
¼ cup Heavy Cream
2 tsp. Espresso Powder
¼ cup Greek Yogurt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In the bowl of a food processor add in the flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, and lemon zest, pulse to blend.
Add the cubes of butter and pulse until the butter has been cut into the mixture, it should likecoarse grains of sand.
In a small bowl, mix together the yogurt, espresso powder, cream, and vanilla until combined.
Add to the flour mixture and mix with a spoon until the mixture just starts to come together. Do not over mix.
Add the pecans and toffee pieces and gently fold together, Mix just enough to incorporate.
Form the mixture into a ball and place on the parchment paper.
7. Use your hands to form the dough into a large circle and flatten about one inch thick.
Cut circle in half, then half again, and once more, to create 8 equal pieces.
Brush the pieces with a little cream or milk to get a good finish.
Refrigerate scones for 20 minutes before baking to keep them from spreading
Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until a deep golden brown in color.
Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

While the scones are cooling make the glaze.

Add the Kahlua, cream, espresso powder and confectioners’ sugar in small bowl mix well.
Add in the Greek Yogurt, and let rest for 5 minutes to build flavor.
Drizzle the glaze over the tops of the scones and serve!

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