Scones

There used to be a little hole-in-the-wall breakfast and lunch spot here in town, and Dan and I loved to go there on Saturday mornings to have breakfast.  The lady who owned the place was also the cook/baker and we loved her scones, especially her lemon poppy seed ones. Mmmm...

But as things go, running a one-woman hole-in-the-wall restaurant is a sure way to make a person tired, very tired, and eventually the owner called it quits, took an eight-hour-a-day job, and found rest. We were left scone-less.  Then a bakery opened in town and they featured scones, usually good ones, but the owner played around with the ingredients and one never knew what the day's offering would be. Some were not so tasty.  Eventually this bakery went out of business for the same reason the restaurant did: the owner wanted a life and some sleep.  Scone-less.  Again.

Meanwhile our daughter had been given a recipe for scones.  By me.  The counselor at our school was a gifted baker and often brought treats to share with those of us in the trenches.  One day she brought in some killer scones and I was able to get her recipe. Except when we made them, they tasted not so good.  I finally realized the counselor was an instinctive baker and she made changes that seemed so natural to her that she didn't even realize she'd made them.

I wrote the recipe off, but daughter Ann (also a scone lover) was determined to see if she could come up with something that worked.  After weeks of tinkering, she did it.  Her new recipe made delicious scones and I made them frequently for a while and then they drifted off my radar.  

This morning I had a hankering for scones and had some extra time before breakfast while Dan was off doing an early morning hand-off of a forestry project he'd been working on.

Scones are biscuit-like in that the butter is cut into the dry ingredients before the liquid is added.  This process has never been something I've enjoyed; in fact, I'd say it sometimes keeps me from making biscuits and scones. But somewhere, maybe from the Pioneer Woman, I saw a terrific idea:  use a cheese grater to grate the butter! So I tried it this morning and it worked like a charm; it literally cuts the work time in half! I see more, many more, scones in our future.

We make drop scones rather than making a circle and cutting wedges.  It's much easier and I confess to liking the process of breaking off a craggy chunk and popping it in my mouth.  They are pretty good sized because the rack pictured above is 12 x 18" and twelve just fit on it. (We'd already eaten three when I snapped the photo.)

Ann said I could share the recipe, so here it is:

Scones

1 1/2 cups white flour

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cream of tartar

1/2 tsp baking soda

Mix above together until butter is chopped up fine

1/2 cup sliced almonds

1 cup buttermilk (or 1 T vinegar with milk to
 equal 1 cup)

1 cup dried fruit or berries

1/2 tsp vanilla or almond extract

Stir above into flour and butter mixture.  Mix until all dry ingredients are incorporated. Drop onto greased baking sheet (18 x 13" half sheet pan is perfect) making 12 mounds.  Sprinkle with coarse sugar.  Bake at 400 for about 17 minutes.  Remove to cooling rack, let cool for a few minutes and enjoy! 

Interestingly, I ran into the hole-in-the-wall lady at the grocery store recently, mentioned her scones and she said she'd send me her recipe.  She did, but it had two tablespoons of baking powder and a teaspoon of salt which I knew would be bad news in the sodium department.  Ann's recipe has a very small amount in comparison. WIN!  ♥