Scones and Tea

I woke up today with a terrible craving for scones and tea. By around 10:00 I simply couldn't fight it any more and so while I was waiting for my friend to come over I put in this batch of scones made from Stonewall kitchen organic mix that I picked up from Whole Foods. The flavor was nice, but they used a quite a bit of butter and it made the texture a bit different. It satisfied the craving, but I regretted being in a hurry and not using my normal recipe which I have modified from The Celtic Cookbook by Helen Smith-Twiddy. I also like this fancier recipe modified from a 1998 Bon Appétit which I often make after holidays to use up extra cranberry sauce. Mmmmm . . .

Drop Scones

Ingredients:

2 cups flour

1/8 cup sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

a pinch of salt

1/2 cup milk

1 large egg

1/3 cup canola oil

2 teaspoons lemon juice (half a lemon)

1/4 cup golden raisins, currants, cranberries or blueberries (optional)

Directions:

Combine dry ingredients in large bowl. Combine wet ingredients in a separate bowl. Combine the dry and wet ingredients to make a soft dough mixing as little as possible. (You can mix either of them separate as much as you want, however as soon as you combine dry with wet you must stir as little as possible because the more you mix the tougher your scones will be after baking. This works exactly the exact same way with muffins.)  Pat into 8-9 inch rounds on a greased cookie sheet or scone pan. Score into wedges with a knife. Brush with milk and sprinkle with sugar or fennel seed if desired. Bake at 375° for 15-20 minutes.

Cranberry and Creme Fraiche Scones

Ingredients:

2 cups flour

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 tablespoons baking powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons unsalted butter (cut in pieces)

2 large eggs

2/3 cup chilled creme fraiche or sour cream

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2/3 cup dried cranberries or 1/3 cup cranberry sauce

Directions:

Whisk dry ingredients in a large bowl. Rub in butter with a pastry mixer or your fingers until mixture is crumbly. Separate eggs and reserve the whites. Whisk egg yolks, cream and vanilla together. Mix in cranberries. Gently stir into dry ingredients. Turn dough out onto floured work surface and divide dough in half. Pat into 8-9 inch rounds on a greased cookie sheet. Score into wedges with a knife. Brush with egg white and sprinkle with sugar. Bake at 350° till pale golden, about 26 minutes.

My best friend Maureen gave me a lovely scone pan one Christmas which makes baking the scones much easier because you simply push the dough into the pan and then it makes perfect triangle shapes. They are available from William Sonoma here. The nonstick surface was great for getting the scones out of the pan. This was actually the first chance I have had to use it for scones, though it works very well for cornbread also.