Scones

Ahhh…. Scones. Rich. Buttery. Warm. Lots of different combinations. Buttery. Quick. Easy. Did I mention buttery? And warm?

I’m not talking about some canned biscuit dough that you flatten and deep-fry. That’s fry bread. I’m talking about breakfast or afternoon scones. The ones your English great-grandmother made. Actually, mine was Swiss so she probably didn’t make these. But I do.

Scones are so easy. Sift together some dry ingredients, cut in some butter, add any dried fruit or extra flavors, stir in the wet ingredients, pat into a ball, cut and bake. And eat.

The secret to flaky scones is to handle the dough as little as possible – just like homemade biscuit dough or pie crust. You want the butter to form those long, flaky layers as it melts while baking. You can roll out the dough and cut it with a biscuit cutter, but I prefer to just pat it out on a pan and cut into squares or wedges.

Scones lend themselves to all sorts of flavor combinations – use your imagination: raisins and cinnamon, pumpkin and pumpkin pie spice, cranberries and orange zest, blueberries and lemon zest, molasses and ginger, chocolate chips and zucchini, chocolate and orange…. I could go on, and I have, but it’s time to start baking.

Tip: if you don’t have buttermilk, use plain yogurt. Just stir in 2 tablespoons of plain milk with the yogurt and egg.

Another tip: use different flours – white, whole wheat, brown rice, garbanzo bean. I like whole wheat mixed with some white flour the best for scones.

Here are the basic instructions for scones:
Sift together dry ingredients.

Cut in butter.

You can also do this in the food processor – mix up the dry ingredients. Cut the butter into chunks, add to the processor.

Pulse until the butter chunks are pea size or a bit bigger.

Put dry ingredients with the butter in a bowl (if you used the food processor). Add raisins, cranberries, blueberries, chocolate chips, or whatever additions you choose to add.

Beat egg or eggs with buttermilk or yogurt. Add any other wet ingredients and whisk. Add to dry ingredients. Knead lightly; press on baking sheet lightly sprayed with cooking spray.

Cut into wedges or squares and slightly separate.

I like to brush them with a little milk or half and half. Then sprinkle with sugar – raw sugar makes a lovely crunchy top.

Bake at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes or as directed by the recipe. When they come out of the oven, cut them again to separate. Serve warm.

Traditionally, they are served with clotted cream or jam.

Ready? Let’s go!

CRANBERRY GINGER OAT SCONES
1 1/3 c. flour      
1 c. oats      
¼ c. sugar      
2 tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. baking soda     
1 tsp. ginger      
½ tsp. soda
¼ tsp. cardamom
½ tsp. salt
½ c. butter
3/4 c. dried cranberries
1/3 c. plain yogurt
1 egg

Bake at 375 degrees for 15-16 minutes.

CHOCOLATE CHIP
2 c. flour      
1/3 c. powdered sugar     
2 tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. baking soda     
½ c. butter
1 egg
½ c. buttermilk
½ c. chocolate chips

Bake at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

WHOLE WHEAT
1 ½ c. whole wheat flour    
½ c. wheat germ      
1/3 c. sugar      
2 tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. baking soda     
1 ½ tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. nutmeg
½ tsp. salt
½ c. butter
½ c. raisins
1 egg
½ c. buttermilk 

Bake at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

GINGERBREAD
2 c. flour      
¼ c. brown sugar     
1 tsp. baking powder     
1 tsp. ginger      
1 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. allspice
¼ tsp. salt
½ c. butter
1/3 c. molasses
1/3 c. buttermilk

Bake at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

APRICOT
2 ½ c. flour      
½ c. sugar      
2 tsp. baking powder     
½ tsp. baking soda     
¼ tsp. salt      
½ c. butter
½ c. chopped dried apricots
½ c. buttermilk
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 tsp. sugar
½ tsp. cinnamon

When assembled, brush with milk and sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.

CRANBERRY
1 3/4 c. flour      
½ c. sugar      
¼ c. cornmeal      
2 tsp. baking powder     
¼ tsp. soda      
¼ tsp. salt
½ c. butter
½ c. fresh or frozen cranberries, coarsely chopped
2/3 c. buttermilk
½ tsp. grated orange rind
1 egg, lightly beaten

When assembled, brush with milk or half and half and sprinkle with powdered sugar. Bake at 375 degrees for about 15 minutes.

BLUEBERRY
2 c. flour      
1/3 c. powdered sugar     
2 tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. baking soda     
½ c. butter
2/3 c. fresh or frozen blueberries
1 tsp. lemon zest
1 egg
½ c. buttermilk
½ tsp. vanilla

Bake at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

They don’t all have to be sweet. These are great with dinner instead of biscuits.
CHEESE SCONES
2 c. flour      
2 tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. baking soda     
¼ tsp. dry mustard     
½ tsp. salt
½ c. butter
½ c. shredded cheddar cheese
½ c. buttermilk
1 egg

Brush with milk and bake at 400 degrees for 12-15 minutes.


These next scones are from Martha Stewart’s website. They just looked so yummy.
GINGER SCONES WITH CARDAMOM
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon cardamom pods, crushed and inner seeds ground, or ground cardamom
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1/4 cup crystallized ginger, chopped in 1/4-inch pieces
3/4 cup sour cream
1/2 cup sugar
4 teaspoons sugar
2 large eggs

Use 1 egg in the dough and one egg, mixed with a teaspoon of water, to brush the wedges before you bake them.  Sprinkle with the 4 teaspoons of sugar. Bake at 350 degrees until golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes.

This one is super-tasty!
LEMON CREAM SCONES
3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
8 tablespoons (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
1/3 cup sugar, plus more for sprinkling
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
3/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons heavy cream
3 large eggs
2 tablespoons finely grated lemon zest
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Combine dry ingredients. Cut in butter. In a separate bowl, whisk together 3/4 cup cream, 2 eggs, lemon zest, and vanilla. Add the cream mixture to the flour mixture, and beat on low speed until just incorporated.

Turn out onto a lightly floured work surface, and form into a flat disc, about 8 inches across and 1 1/2 inches thick. Cut into 8 wedges and transfer to prepared baking sheet.

In a small bowl, whisk together remaining egg and 3 tablespoons cream to make an egg wash. Brush scones with egg wash, and sprinkle with sugar. Bake at 400 degrees until the tops are golden brown and firm, 15-20 minutes.

MUMMY’S SWEET WHITE SCONES
6 ¼ cups all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
Pinch of salt
¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons superfine sugar
1 heaping tablespoon baking powder
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into pieces
4 large eggs
1 3/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons milk
Granulated sugar, for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, salt, superfine sugar, and baking powder. Make a well in the center and add butter. Using your fingers, work butter into flour mixture until a crumbly mixture is formed.

In a medium bowl, whisk together 3 eggs and milk. Add milk mixture to flour mixture and stir to combine.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured work surface; knead lightly and shape into a round. Roll dough out until it is 1 inch thick. Using a 3-inch biscuit cutter, cut out scones and transfer to prepared baking sheets.

In a small bowl, beat remaining egg and brush the top of each scone; sprinkle each with granulated sugar.

Transfer baking sheets to oven and bake until golden brown and cooked through, 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer scones to a wire rack and let cool slightly before serving.

Have fun with any or all of these! Your tummy will thank you!