How To Make Great Scones

If you're anything like me, you love a good scone in the morning with a hot cup of tea or some strong coffee. The notion of what a "good" scone is can be up for debate, but for it me it means a few different things.

Scones are not cakes and they're not cookies. They are more like biscuits than anything else and should be treated very similarly. That being said, scones should be dry and crumbly, not chewy and sickeningly sweet. The soul of the scone is somewhat savory and brittle, not moist and sugary. You'll notice that most traditional scones lean towards tart flavors, like cranberry and lemon. This is because scones serve as a great foil to traditionally sweet afternoon teas. For more on scone history, you can look at the Morning Coffee & Afternoon Tea.

For our purposes, I will give a basic scone recipe and then offer some good stir-in ideas. Get your ingredients and equipment ready: The French idea of mise en place (setting in place) is essential to all forms of cooking. It's much easier to succeed in the kitchen if you can focus on the task at hand rather than searching around for measuring cups and extra flour. Get your ingredients set before you even turn the stove on. For scones, we will need a few ingredients, so go get this stuff ready:

• 13 ounces all purpose flour (approximately 3 cups).
• 1/2 cup white sugar.
• 5 teaspoons baking powder.
• 1/2 teaspoon salt.
• 3/4 cup cold butter cut into cubes (that's 12 tablespoons or 1.5 sticks).
• 1 egg, beaten.
• 1 cup milk (you can substitute 1/2 & 1/2 if you like).
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon, nutmeg, or cardamom.
• (optional) Zest of 1 lemon or orange.
• (optional) 1 cup cranberries, chopped.
• (optional) 1/2 to 1 cup chopped walnuts.

Directions:

1. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
3. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, spices (optional) and salt in a large bowl.
4. Mix the egg and milk in a small bowl.
5. Work the cubed butter into the dry ingredients using a pastry blender or gloved hands until a coarse meal forms. Do not overwork the butter! We want there to be chunks of cold butter in the dough.
6. Add the wet ingredients (and any of the optional ingredients) to the flour/ butter mixture and form a loose, sticky dough.
7. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead 3 or 4 times. Form a 1/2 inch thick disc and cut it into 8 wedges.
8. Place the scones on the prepared baking sheet and bake 12-15 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown.

If you know that you'll be adding optional ingredients, I suggest adding powdered spices to the flour mixture before introducing the butter. If you want some nutty flavor and don't have actual nuts on hand, I like adding almond extract. Pieces of fruit should only be added when the wet ingredients are introduced. That will ensure an even dispersal of goodies throughout the dough.

I can't stress enough that cooking is an art open to interpretation. I like my scones dry and on the less sweet side. After you try this recipe a few times, change it to suit your needs. If you want more of a bread-like scone, work the dough well and develop the gluten. If you want a sweeter scone, add a bit more sugar. If you want a glaze, simply mix a cup of confectioner’s sugar with 2 tablespoons of milk and a 1/4 teaspoon vanilla (or almond extract) until smooth and let stand for 5 minutes. Brush your cooled, cooked scones and enjoy!