Crispy Cornmeal Scones Food

CORNMEAL SCONES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 400°F.
• Mix flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda and salt in medium bowl.
• Cut in butter using pastry blender or 2 knives, until mixture looks like fine crumbs.
• Stir in buttermilk so dough leaves sides of bowl and forms a ball.
• Turn dough onto lightly floured surface.
• Knead lightly 10 times.
• Pat or roll into 7 inch circle on ungreased cookie sheet that has been sprinkled with cornmeal.
• Score top into 8 wedges, cutting down halfway to the bottom.
• Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until light brown.
• Immediately remove from cookie sheet, carefully separate wedges.
• Serve warm.

GRANDMA JOHNSON'S SCONES

Steps:

• In a small bowl, blend the sour cream and baking soda, and set aside.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a large baking sheet.
• In a large bowl, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, cream of tartar, and salt. Cut in the butter. Stir the sour cream mixture and egg into the flour mixture until just moistened. Mix in the raisins.
• Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead briefly. Roll or pat dough into a 3/4 inch thick round. Cut into 12 wedges, and place them 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet.
• Bake 12 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven, until golden brown on the bottom.

MIMI'S CORNMEAL SCONES

Steps:

• Mix first 5 ingredients in a medium bowl.
• Cut in the butter using pastry blended till it looks like fine crumbs.
• Stir in buttermilk so dough leaves sides of bowl and forms a ball.
• Turn dough onto lightly floured surface and knead lightly about 10 times.
• Pat or roll into a 7-inch circle on ungreased cookie sheet that has been sprinkled with cornmeal.
• Score into 8 wedges, cutting down halfway to the bottom.
• Bake in 400 degree oven for 20-25 minutes or till light brown.
• Immediately remove from sheet and carefully separate wedges.
• Serve warm.
• NOTE: If the dough is too dry, stir in an additional 1-2 tablespoons of buttermilk; sometimes I will add an extra tablespoon while mixing, but you try it for the first time.

CORNMEAL SCONES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 400°. Mix flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda and salt in medium bowl. Cut in butter, using pastry blender or crisscrossing 2 knives, until mixture looks like fine crumbs. Stir in buttermilk so dough leaves sides of bowl and forms a ball.
• Turn dough onto lightly floured surface. Knead lightly 10 times. Pat or roll into 7-inch circle on ungreased cookie sheet that has been sprinkled with cornmeal. Score top into 8 wedges, cutting down halfway to the bottom.
• Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until light brown. Immediately remove from cookie sheet; carefully separate wedges. Serve warm.

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.)

CHEDDAR CORNMEAL SCONES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425°F. In a bowl whisk together the flour, the cornmeal, the baking powder, the sugar, the salt, and the cayenne, blend in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse meal, and stir in 3/4 cup of the Cheddar. In a small bowl stir together the egg yolk and the milk, add the mixture to the flour mixture, and stir the mixture with a fork until it just forms a soft dough. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, knead it gently 8 to 10 times, and pat it into a 6-inch round. Cut the round with a sharp knife into 6 equal wedges, arrange the scones about 2 inches apart on a lightly greased baking sheet, and brush the tops lightly with some of the egg white, beaten lightly. Sprinkle each scone with about 1 teaspoon of the remaining Cheddar and bake the scones in the middle of the oven for 15 to 17 minutes, or until they are golden and cooked through.