Scones

Note:  This is a repost from a few years ago when I blogged about scones.  I recently talked about scones on Facebook & people asked me for the recipe, so I thought it deserved a repost.  Enjoy!

 

Like scones?

I adore scones. All kinds. Bacon/Cheddar, Apple, Cranberry/Orange, but most of all, I love the plain ol' regular raisin kind.

Perhaps it has something to do with my love of England. Perhaps it's related to my baking obsession.

At any rate, I've spent the last 10 years or so perfecting my scone recipe & I thought I'd share it with ya'll.

Ingredients:

2 c. flour

1/3 c. sugar

1 tbsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

6 tbsp. unsalted butter

1/2 c. or so of raisins (I actually use 3 handfuls)

1 egg

1/2 c.- 2/3c. full whipping cream (plus some more, I'll explain below)

Directions:

- In a bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder & salt.

- Cut in butter with a pastry blender until butter is pea sized. Using a pastry blender is important- if you don't have one- run out to Target NOW & get one. Doesn't have to be fancy or expensive, you just need one. (I'm still using the one I bought in college- which either came from Target or the utensil aisle of the grocery store.) It's also important here to keep working the pastry blender until the butter is in little bits. You might think you can skimp, but I can tell you from past experience- spend time here! It will be well worth the time!

- Add in raisins or cranberries or any other dried berry. I don't measure very precisely here- I just throw in a few handfuls until it looks good- not too few, but not so many that it overpowers everything else.

- Mix in the egg. Yes, it will look strange- the yolk covering the raisins, just go with it. I've tried switching the raisin/egg order & it doesn't come out as good. If I enjoyed science more, I could probably explain exactly what's going on here, but since science is one of my least favorite subjects, you'll just have to trust me!

- Add cream. Yes, use the full fat stuff. I've used everything from cream to skim milk. (Yes, this was my version of experimenting in college.) The "fattier" the liquid, the richer taste. The skim milk scones aren't bad, they're just more like biscuits with raisins. (Note, this is as close to being scientific in baking as I get.) Ok, so once you've poured the milk in & mixed it in, you might notice that you have a nice scone ball & then there are lots of flour bits at the bottom of the bowl. This is where I add more cream- just about a tablespoon at a time, until all the flour bits stick to the big scone ball, but not so much that the scone ball wants to stick to your spoon.

- Then I plop it on my stoneware, where I knead it there. Not too much- you just want to mold until it's a nice big circle about 3/4" thick, being sure to work in any leftover flour bits. Cut the giant scone into 6 pieces & then spread apart for baking. The rationale of kneading on the stoneware is twofold- 1st, it's one less dish to wash; 2nd, the scone should still be a little "crumbly" so having it already on the pan where it's going to bake on can prevent potential disasters when one transfers the scone from kneading area to baking pan. (Not that I've ever had scones fall apart on me....... :)

- Bake at 425 degrees until tops are golden brown. This takes our oven about 20 minutes or so.

- Serve & drink with beverage of choice, if there are any leftovers, store in a airtight container.