Year ago I worked at a wonderful little tea room where the owner made the most delectable ever scones. Since the place closed, the recipes also are seemingly forever lost.
So, I went on a quest to find THE perfect recipe. In my mind, I remember my dear amazing chef friend telling me that the secret to a good scone was heavy cream and butter. Real butter.
I tried various recipes but none of them fit what I had in mind and the happy sweet memories of hers which just melted in your mouth...until I stumbled on one from an online source called Katie's Cucina. It met all the criteria for ingredients, simplicity of putting together and taste! I added my personal touches and bam! I had a personal favorite and it became the most requested thing I have ever put together. I have since supplied scones for many different events/get togethers. They are a treat that my kids all enjoy and are a quick breakfast or snack. Now that I am not currently doing gluten, the next thing on my to do list is figuring out the delish in gluten free but for now, I will share the love!
*2 cups flour (See note below on flour)
*1 T baking powder (yup you read that correctly!)
*1/2 t salt
*2 T sugar (I prefer raw sugar)
*5 T butter
*1 to 1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
Mix all dry ingredients together well. Add butter like you would to a pie crust (crumbly and pea sized in shape). Add enough of the cream (at least 1 cup) to make a wet sticky dough that is not runny. Depending on the add in items I find that 1 and 1/4 cups are about what I need. Press onto tray. I usually make mine about 3/4 to 1 in thick.
Bake at 450 for 15 to 20 min until lightly browned. Do not overbake!
Mix in your choices of flavor.
Here are some we love!
Blueberry: 1 1/2 c blueberries (fresh is best but frozen works, just eliminate a little of the liquid in recipe and be prepared to bake a little longer. Some enjoy lemon in this so you can add 1 T lemon to the liquid in the dough and top with lemon glaze. (Recipe below)
Lemon Poppyseed: 2 T poppyseeds and 1 T lemon juice added to the dough. Top with lemon glaze. (Recipe below)
Cranberry/Orange: 1 c fresh or frozen cranberries chopped. 1/4 c orange juice substituted for part of the cream. Can add chopped pecans to this combo for some real delish! Top with orange glaze (recipe below)
Kid's Favorite - Chocolate Chip: 1 c chocolate chips or 1/ 1/2 if you really like chocolate. Top with plain glaze. (recipe below)
My Sister's Favorite - Raspberry Lemon: 1 c raspberries. 1/4 c lemon juice subbed for part of the cream. Top with lemon glaze (recipe below) Raspberries are messy so it is best to just press them into the dough after you have it pressed onto the tray.
Bacon and Cheese: Omit sugar from recipe. Add 4 slices bacon, fried and crumbled to the dough. Mix 1/2 to 3/4 c cheese into dough. Sprinkle more cheese on top. ( I do not use glaze on this one obviously)
Cinnamon & Peaches: Add 1 t. cinnamon into dough. Slice 1 peach into thin slices onto the top of your dough. Gently press into the dough. You can omit the cinnamon from the dough and gently sprinkle on top of all to avoid what looks like whole wheat dough and makes people suspicious (Ha!). Top with plain glaze (recipe below)
Cinnamon & Peaches: Add 1 t. cinnamon into dough. Slice 1 peach into thin slices onto the top of your dough. Gently press into the dough. You can omit the cinnamon from the dough and gently sprinkle on top of all to avoid what looks like whole wheat dough and makes people suspicious (Ha!). Top with plain glaze (recipe below)
I am bad about using a pinch of this and a bit of that so this is sketchy. If you start out with the powdered sugar and not the liquid you should be fine.
I usually start out with about 1/2 c powdered sugar and add liquid slowly till its the consistency we like.
For lemon or orange add about 2 t lemon/orange juice to start. Mix until no longer lumpy. You want a smooth not to thick appearance.
For the plain start with 1/2 c powdered sugar and 1 or 2 T cream or milk.
Other tidbits
*I have found King Arthur Unbleached to make a totally different, light and fluffy scone then the other flours I have tried. (varieties of white and whole wheat flours)
*Berries and fruit in general can be messy and make the scones runny/sloppy. Handle all berries with care and try not to smoosh them as you mix them or press them into the dough.
*I love making one batch and dividing in half as not all of us like the same kinds. 1 batch feeds our family of 5 and when I use for breakfast it is the main item on the menu.
*You can make them in any shape you want. I usually do them round. You can fit 2 small circles from the one batch onto one regular size pampered chef jelly roll pan.
*Make sure to use a pan with sides if you don't want a buttery mess in your oven.
*These are super simple and I can get from start to finish in about 30 minutes!
Most of all, get a cup of coffee ready and ENJOY!
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