compu.terlicio.us

The Scone (pronounced to rhyme with “cone” or “con”) must be among the most civilized of breads. Delicious when made plain and served with clotted cream and jam, or when fruit and seasonings are mixed into the dough, a scone can be eaten as part of a Devonshire tea, or as part of the mad morning rush out the door. In addition, as these scones bake well from frozen, you can easily bake them fresh in about 15 minutes. This particular recipe also include the instructions to make my most favorite scone: raspberry and mint.

Ingredients:

• 1 3/4 cups Flour.*
• 1/4 Cup Sugar
• 3 1/2 Teaspoons Baking Powder
• 1/8 Teaspoon Salt
• 1/3 Cup Butter, unsalted, cold but not hard
• 1/3 Cup Sour Cream, cold
• 1/2 Cup Cream**, as necessary
• optional 1 Teaspoon Vanilla

* While several types of flour are customary, I prefer white flour from wheat for my scones. In any case, the flour should be well sifted for the best result (and ignore what the package says about “pre-sifted”)
** Especially if fruit is added, the Cream content may need to be modified in order for the dough not to get to wet. Add slowly to avoid a useless mess. Some people (including my mother) like to use buttermilk, although in this case, you may consider 3/4 cup buttermilk and no sour cream.

For the Raspberry and Mint scone:

• 1/3 Cup Raspberrys, washed and drained well
• Splash of “Mint”*
• 2 Tablespoons Milk
• 1 Tablespoon Simple Syrup, or granulated sugar in a pinch

* See the note at the end on Simple Mint Extract.

Preparation:

Pre-heat oven to 400 F (convection oven), 425 F (plain oven). Grease a baking sheet well.

Sift the salt, baking powder, flour and sugar together. With the butter cool (but not hard), cut the butter into the dry ingredients, either via a pastry cutter, knives, or a stand mixer on it’s very lowest settings (preferably using a pastry hook). If you use the mixer, it is important not to over mix, a second or two should do it. The final result should be grain sized lumps of butter in the dry mixture. If you intend to freeze and then bake the scones, and extra tablespoon of butter may be a good idea.

Gently mix in the sour cream and about half the cream. If you are making the scones plain, mix in a teaspoon of vanilla. Add cream until the dough if thick and flaky, but not “rubbery”. If you are adding a fruit or other additive that is quite moist, you may want to add it before you finish adding the cream as the moisture in the additive can make the dough too wet if all of the cream is added. If you are adding a soft fruit (like raspberrys) and using a mixer, you should add them after you remove the dough from the mixer, otherwise you will end up with puree.

Turn the dough out on a surface liberally dusted with flour. Knead 3-5 times until the dough is just coated enough in flour that you can easily handle it. Pat the dough out in to approximately an 8″ round. With a lightly greased knife, cut the round into 8 pieces. Lay the pieces out on the baking sheet and bake for 8-12 minutes, until the tops are a very light golden color. Optionally wash the top lightly with a mixture of 2 tablespoons cream to 1 tablespoon simple syrup (or sugar). If baking in a non-convection oven, turn the baking sheet 3-4 times to avoid hotspots. Cool on a rack and enjoy (if someone doesn’t eat them before they are cool). If freezing, freeze on the baking sheet. From froze, add 3-5 minutes to cooking time.

Mint Raspberry Scones: My favorite scones have a subtle hint of mint accentuated with delicious fresh raspberrys. To make the mint extract, take 2-3 sprigs of fresh mint, minced finely. Put the mint in a suacepan on low heat with approximately 2 tablespoons of sweet white wine (Riesling, for instance). Add a splash of clear alcohol (Everclear, for example) and allow the mixture to warm, but not to boil until the mint is limp and slightly brown. Drain the mixture thoroughly. I add 1-2 teaspoons of this to the recipe when I add the other ingredients. When adding the berries, wait until you have turned the dough out the knead, and then knead the berries in.

Variation: Scones can be made with a wide variety of fruits, spices, and even savories. Popular combinations include, current, currents and cinnamon, lemon and poppyseed and ginger and honey. If you have an interesting alternative, drop it in the comments.

Serving:

If you get very luck the scones won’t all get eaten off the cooling rack. Serve the scones warm with clotted cream and jam, or with butter, or all by themselves. Makes 8 Scones.