Description
Proprietor Dorine Real makes what are called “short scones,” which means that they have a high proportion of fat to flour. She created a master recipe that she varies with different mix-ins and glazes. “It gives me the chance to try something new or make use of what’s on hand,” she says. Here are four of her favorite variations plus her hard-won recipe for oatmeal scones.
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cups (half pound) all-purpose flour
- 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 1/3 cup cold unsalted butter
- 3/4 cup rich milk (5 ounces whole milk with 1 ounce half-and-half added)
Instructions
Preheat oven to 375°F.
Sift dry ingredients into a large bowl. Cut butter into small pieces, add to flour mixture, and incorporate into flour with a pastry cutter. Warm the milk and add to the flour mixture. Stir just until dry ingredients become moistened. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead just until it’s formed into a smooth ball. Divide dough into 2 pieces, pat into rounds, and then cut each round into quarters. Transfer to an ungreased sheet pan. Bake in the preheated oven for 12 to 15 minutes (or less if using a convection oven). Turn the pan once in the middle of baking if using a standard oven.
Notes
Variations
Lemon Poppy Seed: Zest and juice 1 lemon. Stir ½ of the lemon zest into the sugar before adding it to the dry ingredients in the master recipe. Add ¼ cup poppy seeds to the dry ingredients. Stir to combine. Continue with instructions above. Make a glaze with 1 tablespoon lemon juice and ½ cup powdered sugar. Pour glaze over scones or brush it on just after baking.
Apricot Orange: Roughly chop 8 dried apricot halves and add to the milk. Warm the milk to soften the apricots. Zest an orange and add ½ of the zest to dry ingredients. Make a glaze with 1 tablespoon orange juice and ½ cup powdered sugar. Pour glaze over scones or brush it on just after baking.
Cherry Almond: Roughly chop 1/3 cup dried cherries and add to the milk. Warm the milk to soften cherries. Add 1/3 cup slivered almonds to dry ingredients. Place 1 tablespoon sugar in a custard cup with 2 tablespoons water. Warm in a microwave to dissolve sugar. Brush the sugar water on the tops of the scones and sprinkle sliced almonds over tops before baking.
Butterscotch Chip: Add 3 ounces (¼ package) butterscotch chips and 1/3 cup roughly chopped pecans to dry ingredients. Make a mixture of 2 tablespoons finely chopped pecans and 2 tablespoons brown sugar. Brush tops of scones with milk and sprinkle on the pecan mixture before baking.
- Category: Bread
