Kortni’s Kitchen: Scones
I started making scones a few years ago when my boss asked me to make something for the fall. So I found this recipe on Pinterest. I have since made it so much that I have the recipe memorized. It is so moist and flaky, unlike a lot of scones you buy in the store that are dry and crumbly. With all the flavor combinations you can think of, these American scones are perfect for everything.
Ingredients: Sally’s baking addiction
2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (100g) packed light or dark brown sugar
2 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 Tablespoons (115g) unsalted butter, frozen
1/2 cup (120ml) heavy cream
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 heaping cup (180g) mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
Coarse sugar for sprinkling on top before baking
Confectioners’ sugar for topping after baking
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400°F (204°C). Adjust baking rack to the middle-low position. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Set aside.
Kortni’s Kitchen: Scones
2. In a large bowl, whisk the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Grate the frozen butter. Toss the grated butter into the flour mixture and combine it with a pastry cutter, your fingers or two knives until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Set aside.
- I can’t stress this enough: The butter has to be frozen, not just cold. I keep butter in my freezer just for these scones. If the butter is just cold, then the dough will be too wet.
- I use my fingers to mix the butter. You don’t want to mix too much though, since even your own body heat will melt the butter too fast.
Kortni’s Kitchen: Scones
3. In a small bowl, whisk the cream, egg and vanilla together. Drizzle it over the flour mixture and then toss the mixture together with a rubber spatula until everything appears moistened. Slowly and gently fold in the mini chocolate chips. Try your best to not overwork the dough at any point. The dough will be a little wet. Work the dough into a ball with floured hands as best you can, and transfer to the prepared baking pan. Press into a neat 8″ disc and cut into equal wedges with a very sharp knife. Top with a sprinkle of additional mini chocolate chips (optional) and coarse sugar.
Kortni’s Kitchen: Scones
- I split mine into two balls so the scones are a little smaller. I have also done them into spoonfuls so they are the size of cookies.
- I sprinkle with sugar in the raw before I bake.
4. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until lightly golden and cooked through. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for a few minutes. Sprinkle lightly with confectioners’ sugar, if desired.
Kortni’s Kitchen: Scones
- For the filling you can use pretty much anything, not only chocolate chips.
- I have done: cranberry & orange zest (2 oranges), blueberry, oatmeal & raisins, apricot & almonds, fig & honey, walnut and pumpkin spice (1/4 tsp cinnamon, ginger, allspice, nutmeg). Just make sure whatever you do, don’t use wet ingredients. The honey I drizzled on top. Also, whatever you use, make sure it measures one cup altogether.
Kortni’s Kitchen: Scones
5. Make-ahead tip: Scones are best enjoyed right away, though leftover scones keep well at room temperature for 2 extra days. Scones freeze well, up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and heat up to your liking before enjoying.
This time around I did walnut scones. Last week I did English scones, so I decided this week I would do American scones. These scones are sweeter than the British scones. They are so simple to make and take little clean-up. That is my favorite part; I hate recipes that have a thousand things to wash afterward. These can be done with two bowls, a tsp and a 1/2 cup.
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Kortni’s Kitchen: Scones
