Scones for everyone

Almond scones

I love scones, and I've finally found a basic recipe that can be modified in unlimited ways. I bake these on a silicone pad instead of parchment paper and the bottoms come out golden every time.

Preheat oven to 350F.

Basic Scones

Ingredients:
3 cups regular flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder (use fresh because baking powder can lose it's umpf)
pinch of salt to aid the baking powder
2 sticks of real butter, well chilled
1 egg
3/4 cup cream (heavy cream works best)

Directions:

Beat the egg and cream together and set aside.

By hand, mix the dry ingredients in a bowl. Once you have the dry ingredients combined, cut in the butter. I like to use a pasty wire, but a fork works, too. Work the butter in until the mixture is crumbly, then stir in the egg and cream. 

Don't over work the dough by using a power mixer. It only takes a moment for the wet and dry to combine into a loose dough. 

Turn the dough out onto a smooth surface and gently roll it into about an 8" circle. My hand is eight inches from the tip of my thumb to the tip of my pinkie finger. (It's a measurement that goes with me everywhere.) Tidy the edges of the dough to make the circle round. Cut the dough into 8 wedges.

Bake for 22 to 25 minutes, depending on your oven. When the tops start to look a little golden, the scones should be done. Remove from oven and allow to cool before applying icing or a glaze. 

That's it! You can add anything you like to these scones - nuts, chocolate chips, cranberries - the sky's the limit. I like to echo the flavor in the glaze. 

Basic Scone Glaze/Icing
1 - 16 ounce bag of 10X or powdered sugar
1/4 cup of milk (whole works best IMHO)
2 tablespoons of room temperature butter (it should be soft)
pinch of salt

Combine using a mixer until smooth. Add flavored extracts such as vanilla, orange, almond, chocolate to compliment whatever you added to your scones. 

Once the scones are cool, spread the glaze. Top with nuts, drizzle with chocolate, sprinkle with coconut - whatever floats your boat! Find your favorite flavor combos. Serve with coffee because the glaze is very sweet. 

These scones will freeze. The trick is to freeze them BEFORE you wrap them otherwise all the hard work you did to glaze them will be for naught. You can keep them frozen for at least eight weeks. Longer than that I can't swear to. We've never had a batch last longer than that. 

KC Kendricks
www.kckendricks.com