Cakey Scones Food

THE BEST SCONES RECIPE

Steps:

• Dry ingredients: In a large bowl, combine 2 and 1/2 cups flour, 1/2 cup sugar**, 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, and 1 and 1/2 tablespoons baking powder.
• Wet ingredients: In another medium bowl, add 1 egg, 2 teaspoons vanilla (omit for savory scones), 1/3 cup cream and 1/3 cup sour cream. Whisk it together. Set aside.
• Cut in butter: Now back to the dry ingredients. Use a pastry cutter to cut in the COLD or frozen butter. You can also grate the butter using a cheese grater and mix it in that way. Cut the butter in until it is incorporated and there are still pieces of butter about the size of a pea. Don't overdo it! See photos.
• Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Use a wooden spoon to stir it together until it forms a shaggy dough.
• Coat your hands with flour and finish kneading the dough in as few strokes as possible. (Overworking the dough makes for a tough scone.) Use your hands to fold the dough on top of itself, creating more and more layers until it has come together and all the flour is incorporated. You can add a tablespoon or two of ice cold water if you think it's necessary. I try to get the dough to come together in 5-8 folds. Do your best and remember that you will get better with practice!
• Mix-ins: At this point add in any mix ins you plan to use. (If you want to add cream cheese like you can see in the photos, chop an 8 ounce block of cream cheese into 1/2 inch chunks. Coat with 1/3 to 1/2 cup sugar in a bowl, making sure all the cream cheese is coated. Carefully fold into the dough.)
• Prepare a work space with plenty of flour. I like to use a pastry cloth. Transfer the dough to the work place and use your hands to shape the dough into a 6 to 8 inch circle. I like really thick, tall scones. The thicker your circle of dough is, the taller your scones will be. If you added mix ins, your circle will be a bit larger.
• Use a sharp knife or pizza cutter to cut the circle in half. Cut each half into 3 equal triangles.
• Place on a baking sheet that has been lined with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. Place the scones at least 3 inches apart from each other.
• Freeze for 30 minutes.*** If you don't have room in your freezer, you can put them in the fridge for 45 minutes. If you don't have room to chill a whole baking sheet, place the scones on a plate and then transfer to the baking sheet when they are frozen/cold.
• 15 minutes before the scones are done freezing, turn your oven on to 400 degrees F.
• Place the cold scones on a baking sheet if you haven't done so yet.
• Brush the top of each scone with cream. This will make the scones get nice and brown. Top each scone with coarse sugar if you like, or a bit of salt if you are doing savory scones.
• Bake: Put the scones in the oven and bake for 10 minutes at 400 degrees.
• Turn the heat down to 375 without opening the oven.**** Bake for another 8-15 minutes, until the tops are golden brown. DO NOT OVER BAKE. This is where the magic happens, so stay nearby. If you over bake your scones, they will be dry even if you did everything else right. If you are not sure, use a spatula to lift up one of the scones. If they are a nice golden brown on the bottom, they are done.
• Remove from the oven and let set up on the pan for 10-15 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
• Make the glaze: in a small bowl, whisk or use an electric beater to cream 2 tablespoons of very soft butter. Add 1 and 1/2 cups powdered sugar, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, and 1 tablespoon milk. Whisk together and add more milk until you have a consistency you like. Drizzle over the tops of the scones and let harden (it usually takes 20-30 minutes.)
• Top your scones with butter and jam! They are great reheated in the microwave.
• Store scones covered on the counter for 2-4 days. They are best eaten on day 1 so that you can get those crispy edges. After storing for a while it's hard to avoid a bit of sogginess. (Starbucks solves this problem but leaving them out in the air, but then eventually the center gets dried out. So, pick your poison. Or just eat all 6 scones single handedly on day 1. No judgment here.)

CARROT CAKE SCONES WITH CREAM CHEESE GLAZE

Steps:

• For the scones: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and lightly dust with flour.
• Whisk together the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, orange zest, nutmeg and salt in a large bowl until combined. Add the butter and work it into the flour mixture with your fingers or a pastry blender, just until it resembles a coarse meal.
• Whisk the cream, shredded carrot and egg together in a medium bowl until combined. Add the walnuts. Add the carrot mixture to the flour mixture and fold with a rubber spatula until the dough just comes together. Lightly dust your worksurface and hands with flour. Turn the dough out onto the surface and pat into a 6-inch round, about 1-inch thick. Cut into 8 equal-size wedges.
• Space the scones evenly on the prepared baking sheet. Use a pastry brush to brush more heavy cream on top of each scone. Bake until the tops are matte and golden brown, about 15 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
• For the glaze: Whisk the cream cheese and 1 tablespoon milk until slightly smooth. Add confectioners' sugar and vanilla extract. Add another 1 to 2 tablespoons milk and whisk until smooth and the glaze runs off the whisk. Cover with a damp paper towel until ready to use.
• Drizzle some glaze over each scone, letting it drip over the edges. Sprinkle with walnuts and serve.

CAKEY SCONES

Steps:

• Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 450 degrees.
• Sift first 5 ingredients into large bowl, or measure into workbowl of a food processor fitted with steel blade; pulse until blended. With pastry blender, 2 knives, or steel blade of a food processor, cut or process butter into flour mixture until mixture resembles coarse meal with a few slightly larger butter lumps.
• If making by hand, make a well in the center of mixture and pour in heavy cream and eggs. Working quickly, add currants and blend ingredients together with a rubber spatula into a soft, slightly wet dough. If using a food processor, pour cream through feed tupe; pulse until dough just starts to gather into a rough ball (do not overprocess or scones will be tough). Turn dough onto a well-floured work surface.
• Quickly roll dough to 1/2 inch thick. Use a lightly greased and floured 3-inch biscuit cutter to stamp dough with one decisive punch, cutting close together to generate as few scraps as possible. Dip cutter into flour as often as necessary to keep dough from sticking. Pus scraps of dough together so that edges join; firmly pinch edges with fingertips to make a partial seal. Pat this remaining dough to 1/2 inch thick; continue to cut 3-inch rounds. Place dough rounds 1 1/2 inches apart on a greased baking sheet. Brush with an egg wash and sprinkle with sugar, if desired. Bake until scones are lightly brown, 10 to 12 minutes. Serve immediately.

SIMPLE SWEET SCONES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 425°F (220 Celsius).
• Put flour, baking powder and salt into a large bowl; stir mix well Add butter and cut in with a pastry blender or rub in with your fingers, until the mixture looks like fine crumbs.
• Add sugar; toss to mix.
• Add milk and stir with a wooden spoon until dough forms,(the dough may be a bit crumbly).
• Place dough on floured counter and knead gently until the dough comes together in a ball.
• Pat or roll into a circle about 1 1/2 inches thick.
• cut each circle into 6 or 8 wedges.
• place wedges on a greased cookie sheet- slightly apart for crisp sides, touching for soft.
• Bake about 12 minutes, or until medium brown on top.