Good Afternoon my dear readers! This morning, I had the pleasure of a few of my friends stopping by for a visit. My friends and I always have a wonderful time when we are together. I think of myself as one of the luckiest gals alive. I have a fabulous family and forever friends that I truly cherish.

Once the plans were made for my friends to stop by, I made the decision to make some homemade scones to greet them with. Coffee and scones … what better way to indulge in a little treat while visiting with some of my girlfriends. A few of my friends were unable to come … Susan most likely had meetings (she’s very important), Pam had to go to boot camp (I told her to have fun, I love boots) and Marie’s fabulous son turns 18 today. Happy Birthday Tommy! Azita, Ethel, and JoAnne came by and it was absolutely lovely. I have the most beautiful orchid from Azita and white roses from JoAnne. My house is beautiful with the smell of flowers right now.

I have the best friends ever. Early last week I had surgery on the back of my head and haven’t been out since. (This is also the reason I haven’t blogged any recipes (except one) in the last week.) My lovely friend, Sandy, brought dinner last Tuesday night, which was fabulous (baked spaghetti and all that goes with it, yum!). My sweet friend, Cathy walked over with her husband Tim and a lovely bouquet of tulips. My favorite Latin friend (one of my favorite people in the world actually) and walking buddy, Ethel, brought the best mish mosh soup last Wednesday with a fabulous “cookie” type dessert and my sweet friend, Elizabeth, came over with her sweet daughter, Rachel, a beautiful orchid, and homemade banana walnut muffins as well. I had many text messages from all my friends and family, which I am so grateful for. I am so thankful to everyone for all they did for me. My husband was a real trooper all of last week. He was amazing! He did a fabulous job of washing my hair without getting the incision wet (I, however was soaked!) and he was amazing at wrapping my head and taking care of me in general. I can’t thank him enough. My beautiful daughter, Kylie, made sure to French braid my hair each and every night (and morning) to keep my hair away from the bazillion stitches. Thank goodness this is a trait she became really good at during her softball days.

I’m doing fine and feeling great, just glad last week is behind me.

I’m glad I could finally take this head wrap off. Yay for yesterday!

Today is the first day I feel pretty awesome … the bazillion stitches came out yesterday. My friends are so sweet, they wanted to come over to visit and check up on me, which is why I wanted to have a nice treat for them.

I decided I’d make homemade apricot, almond, white chocolate chip scones. Oh my goodness, they were so good! My friend, JoAnne even asked for the recipe, which I am going to share with you all. (JoAnne, I will write this out on a card for you as well). As some of you know, I am more of a cook than a baker. Especially when I’m making up a recipe up on my own, which is what I always do for my blog. I researched some basic scone recipes and tweaked several to come up with the basic recipe I made. I knew I wanted to add the apricots, almonds and white chocolate, but did some research for how much flour and baking powder to use, and I played with how much butter, sugar, etc. to use to make it my own. I must say, I’m pretty proud of this one!

I started with 1-2/3 cup flour, 6 tablespoons of somewhat softened butter, 4 tablespoons of sugar, 2-1/2 teaspoons baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt. I mixed this together with a fork. In a smaller bowl, I whisked together 1 egg, 1/2 cup non-fat milk (because that’s what I always have in the house) and 2 teaspoons vanilla extract. To the flour mixture, I added 1/3 cup slivered almonds, 1/3 cup dried apricots (that I chopped) and 1/3 cup white chocolate chips. I mixed this into the dry mixture, added the wet ingredients and continued to mix with a fork.

I then turned my dough out onto a cutting board that I had lightly dusted with flour. I formed my dough into a disk, about 3/4 inch thick. I cut my dough into 8 wedges and placed them onto a baking sheet that I had lined with parchment paper. I brushed an egg wash (1 egg and 1 tablespoon water, whisked together) over each scone and sprinkled a little sugar on top. On top of that, I sprinkled extra slivered almonds.

Once the scones had cooled, I drizzled a simple glaze I made out of powdered sugar (1 cup), fat free milk (2 tablespoons) and vanilla (2 teaspoons).

I set my scones out in a little basket lined with a fabric napkin and my treat was ready for my friends.

Ingredients

• 1-2/3 cup all purpose flour

• 6 tablespoons softened butter

• 4 tablespoons granulated sugar, plus 1 teaspoon for garnish

• 2-1/2 teaspoons baking powder

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1 egg, plus 1 egg for egg wash

• 1/2 cup fat-free milk (or whatever milk you choose)

• 2 tablespoons vanilla paste (or extract, if that’s what you have)

• 1/3 cup slivered almonds, plus more for garnish

• 1/3 cup white chocolate chips

• 1/3 cup dried, chopped apricots

Ingredients for Glaze

• 1 cup powdered sugar

• 2 tablespoons non-fat milk

• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions for Glaze

Mix together powdered sugar, milk and vanilla. Set aside until ready to use.

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line baking sheet with parchment paper.

In large bowl, combine flour, softened butter, baking powder, and salt. Blend together with a fork. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, whisk together egg, milk, and vanilla. Set aside.

Stir chopped apricots, slivered almonds, and white chocolate chips into flour mixture. Add egg mixture to dry mixture and stir with a fork, being careful not to overmix.

Place dough onto a floured surface. Sprinkle dough with a little flour and push dough down into a 3/4 inch thick disk. Cut into 8 wedges and place on baking sheet.

Whisk together one egg and 1 tablespoon water to make an egg wash. Brush scones with egg wash, sprinkle with granulated sugar and almond slivers. Bake for 25 minutes (check at 20 minutes) until golden brown. Let cool and drizzle with glaze. Enjoy!

Until next time, Kris