Scones

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These have proven immensely popular over the past decade.  They've been shared many times with many friends.  Most find this recipe quite reliably easy to reproduce so, I happily share

INGREDIENTS:

  • 2 cups unbleached flour (345g)
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 1/3 cup heavy cream
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • milk for glazing (about 1/3 cup)
  • raw sugar for topping (about 1/8 - 1/3 cup)

 

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 375F

Sift together dry ingredients.  Add vanilla to cream.  Stir cream into bowl with dry ingredients (in 2 or 3 additions) until just incorporated.  This should be a loose, grainy dough.  Press down with your hands a few times while still in the bowl then turn out onto a lightly floured surface.  Flatten dough with the heel of your hands until about 1/3 - 3/4" thick.  Fold in thirds then flip onto floured surface- repeat this folding a few times but DO NOT overwork, otherwise scones may be tough.  

Scone dough disk flattened to about 1/2" thick.  Ready for slicing into 16 scones. (or whatever # you prefer)

Scone dough disk flattened to about 1/2" thick.  Ready for slicing into 16 scones. (or whatever # you prefer)

Using your hands, spin the dough mass while smoothing top and sides into a fairly even circle about 1/2" - 3/4" thick.  


Lay out scones onto a lined (silpat, parchment, or foil) baking sheet.  Brush milk over top of each scone with a pastry brush then sprinkle generously with raw sugar.

Brushed with milk or cream then dusted generously with turbinado (raw) sugar

Brushed with milk or cream then dusted generously with turbinado (raw) sugar

Place in 375F preheated oven and set a timer for 8 minutes...

After 8 minutes, rotate the pan 180 degrees and then bake another 8-12 minutes until nicely browned.  Watch the tips of the scones as they will be most prone to over browning 

Blood Orange & Cranberry Scones

Blood Orange & Cranberry Scones

FLAVOR VARIATIONS

Orange Ginger Scones - add zest of 1(large) or 2 (small) oranges to sugar before mixing with dry ingredients.  Chop 1/3 cup crystalized ginger and add to dry ingredients (sticky stuff I toss individual freshly cut bits in the flour mix so they don't stick together)

 

Double Chocolate Scones - add 1/3 cup good cocoa powder to dry ingredients.  Add 1/2 bag good chocolate chips to dry ingredients before adding cream

 

Cinnamon Scones - add 1-2 tbl ground cinnamon (fresh ground is best!) to dry ingredients along with 1/2 bag cinnamon chips.

 

In each case I still brush with milk and top with raw sugar.

 

Lemon Scones -  Add zest of 1(large) or 2 (small) lemons to sugar before mixing dry ingredients.  Top with glaze made from 3/4 cup confectioners sugar and juice of 1 lemon (more if needed) .  - this same glaze made with orange juice makes a good toping for the orange ginger scones

PRO-TIP:  If you are preparing a flavor variation that uses citrus zest, you will enhance that flavor by infusing the sugar.  Zest your orange, lime, lemon or grapefruit over a bowl with your 1/2 cup sugar.  Using a fork, stir the zest into the sugar and allow to set for at least 15 minutes before mixing into the rest of the dry ingredients.

blood orange zest infused sugar

blood orange zest infused sugar