When DH and I were first married he would order a scone any time they were available at a bakery...in fact he still does. I tried them occasionally but always found them dry and tasteless. I even tried on several occasions to bake them myself but they too were dry and tasteless...When we were in Seaside someone told DH about a wonderful small bakery (the Sea Level) in the neighboring town of Cannon Beach so early one morning we drove there and ordered scones.. Much to my amazement they were moist, flaky and absolutely delicious. I had to recant every single derogatory thing I've ever said about scones.
This recipe was.. "the World's Best Scones! From Scotland to the Savoy" I used raisins and walnuts in this batch. The bakery's scones had just a bit of rosemary in them and since mine is so lovely now I added some fresh from the garden....
I believe part of their success was due to a few extra tips I found as I was researching recipes. All recipes cautioned about overworking the dough but I did find specific instructions on handling the dough with a bench scraper and gently folding it. The second tip was freezing the butter and grating it into the flour mixture. And the final tip was once the dough was cut and on a baking sheet to stick it in the freezer for 30 minutes before baking to achieve a better rise. These tips seemed to help.
Of course DH has graciously offered to be the official taste tester and I have gathered the following list of scone recipes to begin with.Apple Cinnamon Scones
English Royalty Chocolate/Orange Scones
Poppy Seed Lemon Scones
Chef John's Pumpkin Scones
Chocolate Hazelnut Ricotta Scones
Meanwhile Morris patiently waits
for a scone to leap off the pan into
his mouth..
I figure that this is a worthwhile winter project. If anyone has a favorite scone recipe that I should try....do indeed send it to me. I will keep you posted as I progress and maybe even get DH to share his thoughts.
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7 comments:
My experience with scones echos yours. I always found them way too dry. So I'm really interested in watching your progress. We had our first snow yesterday - ugh!
Gerry you are such an over-achiever! I confess to using the Rachel Ray method to make scones, Jiffy Mix & cream. But then in my book, scones only exist to deliver a controlled amount of clotted cream & jam to my mouth!
I love scones. Always have. But they are hard to find in my area. I exclude the crappy ones the big box grocery stores sell. We hardly have bakeries in this area unless they are Amish..not a scone to be had. HUGE silly, sickening sweet cinnamon rolls abound. When I need a baked goods fix I head to the Farmer's Market in South Bend, IN where a wonderful Polish Bakery brings the pastries I crave..no scones though.
Thanks Gerry...I'm feeling a trip to South Bend is in order today!!
xx, CArol
I love the pumpkin scones that arrive at Starbucks every year at this time. I always allow myself one during the season. At Trader Joe’s I just bought some pumpkin scone mix - I’ll have to report on that when I make it. We went to breakfast with my friend Bev (remember staying at Bev’s house?) and I ordered a scone at the restaurant. Imagine my surprise when they brought out the western (or Utah) version of a scone. Basically, it’s just fry bread served with honey butter and it nearly covered the plate. I was so disappointed!
some good tips here would never have thought about freezing and grating the butter. I knew about not overworing the dough and it is good to put in the fridge or freezer prior to baking. Interesting that you put nuts in not come accross that before but as I do not like nuts would omit them, yours look most mouth watering
Gerri, I too love scones, but NOT those dry as dust ones. I must admit that I like mine on the sweet side. I have had good luck with the recipe in the attached link. Since I am all bout the crunchy bits I bake them a little longer than called for. I don't get nuts about making them pretty, rather I press the dough out (I use wet hands since the dough is sticky) cut them into little squares and transfer them to a parchment lined sheet.
I hope you share the winning recipe.
Sarah
http://www.food.com/recipe/mini-vanilla-scones-like-starbucks-201719
I too hope you share the winning recipe. I've purchased some from Trader Joes, but sometimes they have them, sometimes they don't.
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