HOT COCOA AND PAPAYA-PECAN SCONES

Hot Cocoa with cream and Cinnamon, my own liquid comfort is my entry to Jai and Bee of "Jugalbandi" blog's "Click" event with a theme of "Liquid Comfort" this month. Enjoy and thanks for hosting JaiBee!:)

Hot Cocoa topped with Cream and Cinnamon:



Camera: Sony Cybershot with 8.1 mega pixels in Macro mode.

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Papaya scones are my contribution to "A Fruit A Month", which is the brainchild of Maheswari of "Beyond the Usual" blog. Nags of "For the cook in me" is guest hosting this month for AFAM and her fruit of choice is "Papaya". Thanks for hosting Nags!:)


Finally!!! After all the running around the town here for Papaya, we visited a Vietnamese store in the next town last weekend and got 2 cans of Papaya! Canned Papayas taste nowhere near like the real ripe Papaya we used to gobble up in India regularly but I feel lucky to have these cans than nothing at all, beggars can't be choosers!!:D

Canned Papayas!
Fresh Papayas are low in Saturated Fat, Cholesterol and Sodium. It is also a good source of Dietary Fiber and Potassium and a very good source of Vitamin A, Vitamin C and Folate. But watch out for the high content of sugar!!! More info at WIKI.


Here they are, my Papaya scones. They are flavorful, not very sweet and makes a perfect breakfast warm or cold with any jam or just sprinkled with powdered sugar. Nuts are optional,gives it a little crunch. I can only imagine how wonderful and aromatic it would be to use the real fresh ripe Papayas in these scones! Use fresh if you can. I don't like any of my desserts too sweet, so these are perfect for me to have on their own with a cup of coffee!:)

Papaya-Pecan Scones:
Recipe for Scones is mostly adapted by Betty Crocker's baking book with my own addition and elimination, makes about 10 scones. You can any kind of chopped fruits and nuts of your choice for variation.



You need:
1 3/4 cup Plain flour,
1/3 cup packed brown sugar,
2 tsp Baking powder,
1/4 tsp salt,

1/3 cup firm unsalted butter or Margarine,(I used the butter),

1 Egg,
1/2 cup Half and half or cream,
1 cup chopped ripe Papaya,
1/4 cup finely chopped Pecans or Walnuts or any nuts.

To bake Scones:
Preheat oven to 400F.
1. Mix flour, sugar, salt and baking pd. Add cut up butter and mix with your fingers until they look like bread crumbs.
2. Add egg and cream beaten together and mix with a wooden spoon just until combined.
3. Stir in Papaya and nuts and mix gently until combined.
4. On a ungreased baking sheets, scoop 1/3 cup of mix and drop them 3" apart from each other. Put it in the oven and bake for 18 mins or until golden brown on top.Do not over bake.
5. Slide them on to a cooling rack gently and immediately and store in a air tight container when cooled for breakfast or light snack. Serve warm or at room temperature with jam or powdered sugar.

Enjoy!:))