Everyone who knows me (or reads this blog) knows my weakness: bread. When I have a food craving going on more often then not it will be for something bread-like. That being said, I’ve wanted to make scones for a long time. My baking time has been cut down drastically (boo!) by a new job (woo hoo!) which I’m still adapting to. Scones as always on the list of recipes I wanted to try but for some reason I had in my head that they were extremely complicated. Perhaps I mistakenly grouped them into a bread category when they obviously are not.
My boyfriend dislikes scones for their ‘dry texture’ but for me there is nothing better with a steaming cup of earl grey tea. I was raised in a house where the versatile ‘baking powder biscuit’ was used in various situations. There was nothing better then waking up in the morning and smelling my Moms b
aking powder cinnamon buns. The best part? No waiting period to rise! Baking powder biscuits were also a staple with home made stew and soups. Still warm from the oven with some butter: can’t be beat! What is a baking powder biscuit? Usually: flour, baking powder, salt, butter, and milk. How similar is this to a scone? A scone recipe usually comprises of (variations do of course exist) flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, butter, milk, and an egg. All of this talk about variations of baking powder biscuits makes me think that I should do a complete post on them but for now you’ll have to be satisfied with a known variation on the recipe: scones.
Scones are extremely versatile: you can put most flavorings in them, any sort of fruit or nuts, or choose between sweet and savory options. For my first experience making them I decided to go with a traditional lemon and after a chocolate variation. Once I actually sat down and read over the recipe I was immediately struck by the simplicity of them. Basically, you mix your dry ingredients together, add the moist, sprinkle in any extras, form into rectangle, and finally cut out your scones. I decided to add some dried cranberries, cherries, and blueberries to my lemon batch. I also garnished them with an almond flavored simple drizzle icing. They were SO good. I know I’m the one that made them but I’m
still allowed to say it! They had the traditional scone texture with a light lemon flavor. The baking also helped to soften up the dried fruit which really add a nice twist to the lemon.
Unfortunately, this elation did not last through to my chocolate batch. In my experience, scones do not boast ‘over powering’ flavor. To clarify, I’ve never eaten a scone that was so rich I couldn’t finish it. I usually find that they are extremely lightly flavored which is one of the reasons why I like them. Well, my chocolate batch took this to the extreme: they didn’t taste like anything! The nuts really added to the disappointing effect: they added crunch to a tasteless mouthful.
So, I come out of my first scone experience with a 50% success rate which to me is a win. I definitely look forward to testing out some different variations in the future.
