Cream Scones

Submitted by Linda Johansen

"(from How to Cook Everything-Mark Bittman)"

 

• Ready In: 30mins
• Ingredients: 9
• Serves: 8

ingredients

• 2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 5 tablespoons butter, cold
• 3 eggs
• 3⁄4 cup heavy cream
• 1⁄3 cup raisins (optional)
• 1 tablespoon water

directions

1. Preheat the oven to 450.
2. Mix dry ingredients together, reserving 1 Tbsp sugar.
3. Cut butter into bits and rub into dry ingredients until thoroughly blended.
4. (Or pulse in food processor). Beat 2 eggs with cream, and blend into dry ingredients with a few swift strokes.
5. Use only a few more strokes to add raisins.
6. Turn dough onto lightly floured surface and knead 10 times; no more. If it is very sticky, add a little flour, but very little; don't worry if it sticks a bit to your hands.
7. Press the dough into a 3/4 inch rectangle and cut into 2 inch rounds with a biscuit cutter or glass.
8. Place the rounds on an ungreased baking sheet. Gently reshape the leftover dough and cut again; this recipe will produce 10-14 biscuits.
9. Beat the remaining egg with 1 tablespoonful of water and brush the top of each scone; sprinkle each with a little of the remaining sugar.
10. Bake 7-9 minutes, or until the scones are a beautiful golden brown.
11. These keep better than biscuits, but should still be eaten the same day you make them.

12. Seven Easy Additions to Cream Scones:

13. --Stir one-half cup or more chopped nuts into the prepared batter.
14. --Use up to fifty percent whole wheat flour.
15. --Substitute fresh fruit (apples, pears, peaches), whole berries (blueberries, cranberries) or minced dried fruit (figs, apricots) for the raisins.
16. --Add one teaspoonful or more of cinnamon or ginger, or a pinch of nutmeg or allspice to the dried ingredients.
17. --Add one-half cup grated cheese along with the eggs and cream; reduce the sugar to one teaspoon.
18. --Add minced fresh herbs to taste-dill, parsley, and chevril are especially good; reduce the sugar to one teaspoonful.
19. --Add one-half cup or more of minced cooked meat along with the eggs and cream; reduce the sugar to one teaspoon.

Reviews

[Elizabeth Fullerton]

Only takes thirty minutes, and they are good.

 

[a la mode]

I'm so sorry to say that these were teribble. They were so sticky, I added 1/2 cup of flour but it needed more like 2 cups more and I didn't have any extra flour at the time. When they came out of the oven they looked amazing! I had just spooned it all into one big lump and it crusted over wonderfully! but when I cut into them to see if they were done I found it almost as if I had never put them in the oven, so I tuned it down to 300 and let it cook fo 20 minutes or so. They were okay, but the consistance was not good.