Scones, how to make the modern way.
I’m sure there are those who will balk at the idea of using a food processor and a cookie scoop to make scones, however, I believe that had our forebakers had such modern conveniences, they would most likely have used them to save time and their energy. I discovered that carpel tunnel and a pastry blender to not go well together which is why I use the food processor to incorporate the butter. Add your (milk, cream, 1/2 and 1/2 or buttermilk) this way also but only just until incorporated into the dry ingredients. We still don’t want to over work the dough and risk it becoming stiff. I have found that using a cookie scoop, for saucer scones, or an ice cream scoop, for regular sized scones, keeps the batter from becoming over worked and again, saves time and energy.
Tie on your aprons, here we go!
Recipe: 2 C unbleached flour, 2 TBS sugar, 1 TBS baking powder, pinch of salt (original recipe calls for 1/2 tsp), 1 stick of butter (orig. recipe calls for 6 TBS), 3/4 C liquid (original recipe calls for buttermilk, this is where you add your cream, milk half and half or buttermilk, whichever you prefer.) I have modified this recipe because my scones were turning out too dry. I also live at 6k feet and use high altitude flour which is more moist than regular flour. I hope the modifications don’t throw you off.
Bake at 425 for 10-20 minutes or until brown. (may brush with lightly beaten egg or cream before cooking, I don’t)
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Dry ingredients in the food processor. I use the regular blade, not the dough blade.
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Blend all the dry ingredients together before adding the wet ingredients.
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As with the traditional method, you cube the butter before placing it into the food processor. I cut it into 1 inch pieces, turn on the F.P. and blend it until it’s incorporated. Then, I add my milk, 3/4 of a cup OR until blended. I use the feeder hole at the top and add while the machine is running. If I need to, I will stop the F.P. and scrape down the sides. Remember, I want it moist, but not runny or goopy. It’s not cake batter.
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Time to scoop! I used my 2″ cookie scoop for this batch. I love making the scones smaller like this, then I can place them around the edge of the saucer of my teacup. If you want bigger scones, use a bigger scoop, or at this time, you may remove all the batter from the bowl of the processor, place on your counter and form and slice as you wish.
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A tad blurry, but you can see I’ve placed my scoops of scone on my pizza stone to cook. I can fit an entire batch on my stone which I love because it keeps me from living in the kitchen baking scones all day.
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All done and ready to eat!
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To this basic scone recipe, you may add your own assortment of dried fruits and spices. To add currents, place 3/4 to 1 C of dried currents into a bowl which contains 1 C hot water and 1 tsp vanilla extract. Let the currents plump for about 20 minutes to 1/2 an hour if you want them plumped. You may add them to your scone batter dried and unplumped if you wish. I encourage you to try your own flavor combinations. What fun is baking if we can’t experiment once and a while?