Banana Bran Scones Cooking Light Food

BANANA BREAD SCONES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
• In a small bowl, whisk together the banana, cream, egg, and vanilla. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt.
• Cut in the butter with a pastry blender, or 2 knives used like scissors, until the mixture resembles coarse meal with some larger pieces. (You can use your fingers if you work fast enough that the butter stays cold.) Toss in the chopped chocolate and hazelnuts.
• Drizzle in the banana mixture and stir with a fork until the mixture is crumbly and moistened, but stop before you've mixed it into a uniform batter. Tip out the mixture onto a parchment-lined baking sheet and pat it into a 6-inch circle. Using a sharp knife or a bench scraper, cut the circle into 8 equal triangles. (At this point, you could freeze the triangles well-wrapped on their sheet for another day. Bake them from frozen.) Spread the triangles apart and brush the tops with the cream. Sprinkle with sanding sugar.
• Bake until the scones are golden brown and set, 22 to 25 minutes. A toothpick inserted into the center of a scone should come out clean. Transfer the baking sheet to a wire rack to cool slightly. Serve warm or at room temperature. Scones are best the day they're made.

BANANA-NUT SCONES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease a cookie sheet.
• Place bananas in a large bowl; beat with an electric mixer until mashed. Add brown sugar, yogurt, egg, and vanilla, beating until smooth. Add cinnamon, baking powder, and salt, beating to combine. Add flour, 1 cup at a time, beating just until combined after each addition. Do not overmix.
• Grate chilled butter into batter using a cheese grater. Beat to combine. Fold in walnuts using a rubber spatula. Drop batter by generous 1/4 cupfuls onto the prepared cookie sheet.
• Bake in the preheated oven until edges and tops of scones are golden and a toothpick inserted in the center of a scone comes out with only crumbs, 17 to 20 minutes.
• When scones have a few minutes left in the oven, combine maple syrup and butter for glaze in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook until butter melts completely; do not boil. Remove from heat. Add just enough confectioners' sugar, whisking in a small amount at a time, to reach desired consistency for glaze.
• Drizzle glaze over scones using a spoon or whisk.