Cap’n Crunch Scones

Cap’n Crunch is haunting me!…  I thought I was done with him years ago, but here he is back again; reinvented in a new form.  Oh, but what a form it is!   Scones, one of the (many) loves of my life, containing “The Cap’n”, plus cream, plus corn.  A rather odd combination, but somehow it works, and the resulting scones are just great.  You must try them and see for yourself.  They’re not just for breakfast, and definitely not just for kids.

In my previous experience with Cap’n Crunch cereal, when eaten for breakfast it seemed to soak up the milk and become very soggy, thus losing its appeal for me.   I prefer to snack on the cereal dry which provides lots of crunch—of course, that’s what the name says it should do, so what’s up with becoming so mushy when wet?   I know, I’m rambling, so back to the point;  in this recipe you want the cereal to become mushy so you puree it to get crumbs, then add cream for the crumbs to soak up.

CAP’N CRUNCH SCONES

YIELD:   Makes 8 large scones

CEREAL PUREE

• 1 cup Cap’n Crunch Cereal, ground in the food processor
• 3/4 cup heavy cream

SCONES

• 1 1/4 cup frozen corn, thawed
• 1/2 cup Cap’n Crunch Cereal
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) cold, unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup cereal puree, from above
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 teaspoon butter flavor (optional)

GARNISH

• 1/4 cup cereal puree, from above
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• additional Cap’n Crunch cereal for garnish

DIRECTIONS

1.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, or grease a scone pan.

2.  For the cereal puree:  Grind 1 cup of cereal in the food processor; place in a bowl or measuring cup and add the heavy cream.  Stir; set aside to soak while you measure the rest of the ingredients.

Pureed cereal with cream added.

3.  For the scones:  Put the corn and 1/2 cup cereal in the food processor and puree until smooth.**  Place the mixture in a bowl and whisk in the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt.  Cut in the butter until it’s in lumps the size of peas.

   ** My corn was still a little frozen, so I didn’t get a smooth puree.

Add the 3/4 cup cereal puree, egg, vanilla, and butter flavoring, if using.  Mix until the dough comes together, then pat into an 8-inch circle on the prepared pan, or portion the dough into the wells of the scone pan.  If baking on a sheet pan, cut the dough into 8 wedges, then back up each wedge so there’s 1/2″ of space between each one. ( Leave adequate room between them as they tend to spread a bit.)

4.  Combine the 1/4 cup cereal puree and 1/4 cup heavy cream and use to brush the tops of the scones and then decorate each one with additional pieces of cereal.

Brush tops with more puree and decorate with pieces of cereal.

5.  Bake for 20 – 25 minutes, until the tops are golden brown.  Remove from the oven and serve warm.

Warm from the oven. Ummmmh, so good!

SOURCE:   The Baking Sheet,  King Arthur,  Holiday 2012