Baking with VIA

As mentioned in my previous post, the creation of this blog was prompted by all the baking I've been doing this past week for my job. (Warning: shameless plugs ahead.) I work at Starbucks, and last Tuesday we came out with a new product - flavored VIA instant coffee - which has spurred quite the baking spree for me. We've had regular VIA for about a year now and iced VIA since this summer, and now as of last week, we have VIA available in vanilla, mocha, cinnamon spice, and caramel. Though I generally prefer to drink my coffee black (particularly if it's a nice french-pressed cup of Sumatra), I'm still really excited about these new flavors for the little twist they add to recipes. Over the past 7 days (err, well, nights, mostly), I've spent lots of time in my kitchen playing around with the different flavors and experimenting with different recipes. Some have turned out fairly well (others less so), but the general response from customers and coworkers alike has been positive. Several people have asked me for the recipes I've used, so I'll be using this blog over the next few days to post both those that worked well and those that were less successful.

So, here is the first recipe (and my personal favorite):

Cinnamon Chip Scones

1 cup sour cream

1 teaspoon baking soda

4 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup white sugar*

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

1 teaspoon salt

1 packet Cinnamon Spice VIA

1 10-ounce package cinnamon chips

1 cup butter

1 egg

4 teaspoons cinnamon*

1. Preheat oven to 350 F degrees.

2. Spray two baking sheets with nonstick cooking spray (or line with parchment paper).

3. Combine sour cream and baking soda in small bowl.

4. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, cream of tartar, salt, and Cinnamon Spice Via in large bowl.

5. Cut in butter until mixture resembles fine bread crumbs.

6. Fold in cinnamon chips.

7. Combine egg with sour cream mixture; add cinnamon.

8. Gently fold sour cream mixture into flour mixture until moistened.

9. Knead dough briefly, no more than 10 times (it will be sticky; it's ok).

10. Divide dough into two; place on baking sheet (or, I use extra parchment paper on the counter), and pat into a circle with 3/4 inch thickness.

11. Cut each round into 6-8 wedges.

12. Place wedges on baking sheet with at least three inches in between each one.

13. Bake 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown.

* Note: Since the Cinnamon Spice VIA already has sugar and cinnamon in it, I decreased the amount of these ingredients from the original recipe just slightly (i.e. I used just a little less than 1 cup of sugar and about 3 3/4 teaspoons cinnamon). You can play around with it according to your taste preferences.

Enjoy!