Chocolate Chip Scone Loaf

I use to make month long menu plans.  I think I actually liked making
them more than following them.  I would often carry a black bag of printed recipes with
me when I knew I would be going somewhere where I'd have a little time to
glance through them.  In no time my empty month calendar would
begin to fill in with the dinners we would be eating that month.  I laugh because
even now, there are times when I go to my mom's house to let my kiddies play and I will
tote a bag of recipes along with me (not so much to plan, but to read over and
let my mouth water a bit). 





Fast forward a few years to today and my current struggle of
making even a weekly menu.  Now, planning a weeks’ worth of dinners
gives me a bit of anxiety.  Without fail, during the week I will spy something(s) new
I want to try or our nightly dinner schedule changes and then my menu plan gets thrown a bit and that bugs
me.  I seem to fly by the seat of my pants a bit more these
days (which also has its major drawbacks, one being that I
make more trips to the grocery store than should ever be allowed in one
week).





So while I often am on the hunt for new recipes to try,
I also have the tried and true favorites in my back pocket that are
both familiar and loved by my little family (like these biscuits).





I first found the recipe for these cream biscuits on the blog Orangette.  They come together quickly
(bowl and wooden spoon) and are tender and delicious.  I can't count how
many times I've made them and my food spattered biscuit recipe
that hangs right inside my kitchen cabinet door along with a few
other favorites (Ashley Rodriguez's chocolate chip cookies, flatbread pizza
dough, and our favorite whole wheat waffle recipe...just to name a few) proves it. 
The original recipe doesn't call for raspberries and most often I make them
without, but this morning my raspberry studded, sugar crusted biscuit
tasted just perfect and will sure to be repeated over and over again.

Raspberry Cream Biscuits





2 cups all-purpose flour



1 teaspoon salt



1 tablespoon baking powder



2 teaspoons sugar

1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped (optional)



1 1/2 cups heavy cream



4 tablespoons butter, melted


1 1/4-1 1/2 cups raspberries



Turbinado or other coarse sugar





Preheat the oven to 425°F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment
paper; set aside.





In a large mixing bowl combine the flour, salt, baking powder, and
sugar.  Whisk together and then add then add the raspberries and gently
stir.





In a small bowl, whisk together the cream and seeds from the vanilla bean.  Slowly add 1 1/4 cup cream, stirring gently as you pour in the
cream.  Add the additional 1/4 cup cream if the dough feels shaggy and
pieces are dry.





Dump the dough onto a work surface and shape into a 1/2 inch thick
square.  (If you don't mind the raspberries breaking up a bit or if you
aren't using raspberries, you could knead the dough briefly if necessary. 
You don't want to overwork the dough.)





Cut into 9 squares (or 12 if you want smaller biscuits).  Place each
biscuit on prepared baking sheet and brush generously with melted butter so
that all sides of the biscuit are coated.  Sprinkle with coarse sugar and
bake for about 15 minutes, or until lightly browned.  Serve hot.




Recipe adapted from Orangette