Cupcake of the Week: Maple Bacon Scones || Week 1

On my way to work, I realized I'd yet to name my New Years Resolution 2011... And not my "go to the gym," "take classes," "volunteer more," every year resolutions, I like to pose a challenge. Last year it was Caroline on Crack's 100 things to do in LA mega-list, which proved a little harder than I thought & I'm still determined to finish. This year, I thought I'd do something a little more fitting to my current blog...

And so.  The challenge has been set.

CUPCAKE (or equally as yummy baked good) OF THE WEEK!!

I know I'm already a little behind... but thankfully I have 3 baked goods sitting in my "to blog" list which I'm going to forward date to weeks 1, 2 & 3. But from here on out, each & every week I'm going to brainstorm, experiment & taste test a brand new creation from the inner world of Niki.  No chocolate or vanilla cupcakes here!  It's going to be all about fusing flavors & textures, with hopefully mostly positive results.  

So... here goes.  Week #1.  Maple Bacon Scones!

Ingredients - Yield 3 Dozen Mini Scones
3 cups all purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 stick cold butter
1 cup cold cream
3 tablespoons maple syrup

1 package cooked bacon, crumbled

1 box powdered sugar
extra sugar to dust on top

Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees.  Grease your mini scone pan & set aside.  (If you don't have a scone pan, you could easily make these in a mini cupcake tin as well).  In a bowl, mix your flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, baking soda & crumbled bacon.  Make a little well in the middle of the mixture & pour in your cream & maple syrup.  Lightly mix.

Then, here's a little trick... using a cheese grater, grate your cold stick of butter (all of it) into your bowl!  It works really well at evenly distributing the butter in little chunks through your batter so it stays light & fluffy.  Once your dough is ready, spoon little balls into your scone pan, dust the top with a little sugar & bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown.

When done, let your scones cool and in a separate bowl mix up your glaze...  1 part maple syrup, 4 parts powdered sugar.  Mix it up until it has a slightly runny consistency, thin enough to drizzle, thick enough to still set once it's dried.   Drizzle your glaze on top of your scones, let it harden up a bit & enjoy!