I’ve had this recipe around for years – it was originally discovered through Weight Watchers. I posted it on an old blog, but realized that I have since made adjustments to it. It makes a nice side dish in the Fall & Winter, but you can make it any time of year by using frozen squash and canned pears. And the best part? This squash soup completely fits in with Whole 30, which was a win for us and we enjoyed some in our last round of Whole 30.

It really helps if you have an immersion blender so you can blend the soup (carefully, of course!) right in the pot. But if you don’t have one, then cool the soup slightly and use a blender, working in batches. Then pour the soup back into the pot and reheat.

Butternut Squash and Pear Soup

1 bag/box frozen butternut squash (or 1 roasted butternut squash, with pulp scooped out)
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, chopped
2 cups chicken broth (If doing Whole 30, make sure ingredients are compliant. Can also use vegetable broth.)
1 large, ripe pear, pared, cored, and diced (or 1 small can of pears, drained, and diced)
Salt and pepper, to taste

In a large saucepan, heat oil. Add onion and garlic and cook over medium heat until soft, about 5 minutes. Add chicken broth, pear chunks, and squash pulp. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until pear is soft, about 5-10 minutes.

Turn heat off and carefully blend with immersion blender until soup is completely pureed (or use blender). Add salt and pepper, to taste. Serve hot. Makes about 4 small servings.

squash soup

If you enjoy this squash soup and want more Whole 30-compliant recipes, check out some of my fave Whole 30 foods and recipes.

Do you have a fave side dish soup? Have you had squash soup before? Let me know in the comments!

I mentioned in a post that I would probably have occasional recipe posts here. I actually had the general recipe for these scones on my other blog, but as I was referring to it yet again to make the scones, I knew it needed reworking, rewording, and new pics, so I decided to do that for you here because…scones. No other reason needed!

These are my absolute favorite scones and they are not like the usual scones that you get to eat. They’re cream scones and are light and fluffy – like little pastry clouds of love. They are also the easiest scones to make – in fact, you CAN make these scones even if you claim not to be a baker. I’ll give you the step-by-step instructions; just follow along for deliciousness that will impress your family and friends. I can’t take credit for this recipe – a friend used to give this mix as a Christmas gift and it was my first introduction to making scones.

Cream Scones Step-by-Step

First, preheat the oven to 425° F and cover a large cookie sheet (or 2 smaller ones) with parchment paper. If you don’t have parchment paper, you can use ungreased cookie sheets.

Add all of the dry ingredients to a mixing bowl and whisk together until well-mixed. Prep your flat surface for patting out the scones by flouring it. Since I don’t have a flat counter, I use our pullout cutting board and cover it with wax paper before flouring. The wax paper trick makes my cleanup afterward so much simpler.

Pour the measured heavy whipping cream into the bowl and use a fork to stir up the ingredients into a ball of sticky dough. You will have to keep working the dry ingredients into the dough ball. It will eventually all come together.

With floured hands, take the dough out of the bowl and knead together a few times. Split into 2 or 3 equal balls and set down on floured surface. I do 3 balls as it makes scones that are between full-size and mini, thus justifying eating 3…or so. If you want lots of mini scones for a group, do 4 smaller balls. Pat dough into circles that are about 5 inches across (smaller if you do more circles).

Melt the butter and brush it over tops and sides of the circles. Sprinkle tops evenly with sugar. For a prettier effect, use clear sparkling sugar. Cut each circle into 8 wedges. You can use a knife, but I do it the fun way – with my pizza cutter.

Transfer wedges to cookie sheet. Make sure and leave a bit of room around each scone as they will spread out a little. Bake for 11 minutes. If you do smaller scones, check sooner. Since ovens always differ, I recommend starting with 10 minutes and adding minutes until the scones start to get a light golden brown color. You want that bit of crispiness on the outside.

Remove from oven when done and cool on a rack. While they are cooling, use the rest of the heavy whipping cream to make whipped cream for the scones. I add about a teaspoon or so of powdered sugar as I’m whipping the cream to give it a slight sweetness. Eat and enjoy!

Cranberry White Chocolate Cream Scones Recipe

Cranberry White Chocolate Cream Scones
2 Cups Flour
1/4 Cup Sugar
1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1/2 Cup Dried Cranberries
1/4 Cup White Chocolate Chips
16 oz. Heavy Whipping Cream
3 Tablespoons Butter, Melted
Extra Sugar to Sprinkle (Clear sparkling sugar looks lovely.)

Preheat oven to 425° F. Prepare 1 large or 2 smaller cookie sheets with parchment paper (can leave ungreased if you don’t have parchment paper, though I’ve always used parchment).

Combine all ingredients into a bowl. Whisk together. Add 1 1/4 cups of the heavy cream to the mix. Using a fork, stir until batter becomes a sticky ball of dough. Keep working in the loose flour until all is mixed in.

Prepare a flat surface by coating lightly with flour. With floured hands, pick up ball of dough and knead a few times – up to 8 or so. Pat into 2 or 3 circles on floured surface. Pat until circles are about 5 inches in diameter. Brush melted butter onto tops and sides of dough circles. Sprinkle the tops evenly with sugar.

Cut each circle into 8 wedges. Place wedges on prepared baking sheet(s). Make sure to leave close to an inch of space around each wedge. Bake for 11 minutes or until tops are getting golden brown.

In a mixing bowl, whip remaining heavy cream. During whipping, add 1 teaspoon or so of powdered sugar for a bit of sweetness. Serve warm scones topped with whipped cream. Enjoy! Scones are best while still a little warm and served same day. If you save leftovers (What leftovers?!), they will still be yummy, but you will lose some of the slight crisp to the outside and the fluffiness inside.

Variations: Substitute chopped walnuts for white chocolate chips or chopped apricots for the cranberries. Instead of cutting into wedges, cut into circles with the rim of a glass or other shapes with cookie cutters. Pat together leftover bits of dough to use all of it in the shapes.

I hope you get a chance to make these cream scones – they are worth the effort! Have you had these scones before? Do you have a favorite kind of scone?

Be sure to Like my Facebook page if you haven’t and subscribe to my blog posts so you never miss what’s coming next! Thanks for joining me, friends!

from Lisa Marie

Tag: recipe