Honey Walnut Cream Cheese Panera Copycat

 

A couple of months ago, I mentioned ordering bagels from New Yorker Bagels, adding how much I loved them. Last week they announced that their pumpkin spice bagels were available for a limited time, so I pounced on those like a poodle on a pork chop. Remembering how much I enjoyed the honey walnut cream cheese at Panera that I like to top sweet bagels, I decided to make some of my own. Honestly, this is better than theirs.Honey Walnut Cream Cheese (Panera Copycat)

8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature

2 T. honey

½ T. brown sugar

¼ t. vanilla extract

  ¼ t. ground cinnamon

1/8 t. salt

3 T. chopped walnuts

 Place cream cheese, honey, brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt into a medium mixing bowl. Beat on medium speed to combine, then on high speed for 1 to 2 minutes. Fold in walnuts, and turn into a serving or storage container.

 Store in refrigerator. Keeps for up to one week.

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Better than Bread Co.’s* Cream Cheese Potato Soup (*Panera, if you must)

If you were paying attention while reading yesterday's post, then you doubled the amount of jalapeno cream cheese. The reason that I asked you to do that was because of this recipe right here, based upon a copycat for Panera's Cream Cheese Potato Soup. I like their potato soup, but I was looking for more zip and zing. So, when I made that grilled cheese sandwich, I just knew that I was going to use jalapeno cream cheese in making the potato soup. What a huge difference this made in taste! This really kicks potato soup up a big notch, and will make any that you serve memorable. Anybody can make potato soup, but only someone special can make it with a tasty kick like this.

Better than Bread Co.’s* Cream Cheese Potato Soup

 (*Panera, if you must)

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, cut into chunks

1 fresh jalapeno, minced and seeded

1 teaspoon garlic powder

4 cups homemade chicken stock

4 cups peeled and cubed potatoes

¹⁄₄ cup minced onion

¹⁄₂ teaspoon seasoning salt

¹⁄₄ teaspoon white pepper

¹⁄₄ teaspoon ground red pepper

In a large bowl, stir together cream cheese, jalapeño, and garlic powder; set aside.

Combine broth, potatoes, onion, and spices in a medium stockpot. Set over medium heat and bring to a boil. Cook until potatoes are tender, 10-12 minutes depending upon the size of your dice of the potatoes.

Smash a few of the potatoes to release their starch for thickening. Reduce to low heat. Stir in cream cheese/jalapeno mixture, and continue stirring until cheese melts.

Serve, garnished as you see fit. I used chopped scallions, grated smoked cheddar, and homemade croutons.

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This post is linked to: Homemaking Party Tuesday, Wow Us Wednesday, Wine’d Down Wednesday, Wake up Wednesday, Full Plate Thursday,  Thursday Favorite Things, Share Your Style, Coffee and Conversation, and Foodie Friday & Everything Else

Truly English Savoy Scones

Breakfast served this morning on a plate from The Art of William Hogarth Collection by Williams-Sonoma.

Yesterday, late afternoon, we went to St. Louis Bread Co. (known in different parts of the country as Panera) because I wanted an orange scone and was going to get Jim an "Everything" bagel. I wanted the scone because I still had half a jar of very expensive English clotted cream in the fridge and, having lost an entire jar at one point (got stuck behind the garlic pickles and eggplant chutney), I never wanted that to happen again. When I got there, there was one woman ahead of me and the service counter guy was yakking to her endlessly, making quite a point of ignoring me, as I stood there glaring at him.  When I want an orange scone, I want an ORANGE SCONE, but I digress.



There was only ONE scone (Not an orange one, alas, but wild blueberry that I don't like as well, but will take in a pinch -- orange goes so much better with the clotted cream and strawberry jam, you see. The whole wild blueberry scone/strawberry jam thing just seems wrong, but, yet again, I digress...) and ONE everything bagel left. As I stood there waiting, glancing frantically from the scone to the yakker to the scone and back, a couple came in and they, too, stood there glaring at the pastries, lips trembling, waiting to place an order.


Finally the yakker ambled over to me as the fleet-of-foot barrista, seeing the other couple unattended, ran up to them. As you've probably guessed, the other couple got both my scone and the bagel. I was FURIOUS! I told the yakker that I was there first and it was MY food that they'd just gone off with. He just sort of stared at me then shrugged and wandered off.  Can you say livid?  We're talking scones here, people!  MY scone, in someone else's house!  And probably improperly consumed, i.e. NOT with clotted cream and strawberry jam but perhaps (gasp) with butter or, worse yet, grape jelly! (I  can't stand it!)


Anyway, long story short (or is it too  late?), when I got up this morning there were Savoy Scones (that, BTW, put Bread Co. to SHAME) on the counter under my favorite French linen tea towel. Jim had baked them for me after I went to sleep last night. How's that for an "Awwwwww..." moment?

Here is Anton Edelmann's, maitre chef des cuisines at The Savoy, recipe and our favorite.

SAVOY SCONES

Makes about 8

1-3/4 c flour

4 t baking powder

1/4 t salt

5 T unsalted butter cut in small pieces, cold

5 T sugar

1/2 c currants (optional)

2/3 cup milk

1 large egg yolk for glaze

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Work butter and sugar in by hand until it's crumbly.

Make a well in the center and add milk and currants and mix together quickly but don't over mix. Dough will be a bit sticky and rough looking.

On floured surface, roll dough out 3/4" thick and cut into 2-1/2" rounds. You can also just cut into 2-1/2" squares if you don't have a cookie cutter or make two rounds of dough and cut each into four wedges.

Brush tops with egg yolk.

Put on parchment or silpat-lined baking sheet and let rest for 15 minutes. Bake 15 min. until golden. Remove to rack to cool slightly.

(To be authentic you must serve them with clotted cream and strawberry jam.)