Cream Scones

I put this recipe under “breakfast” because what better way to start the day than with a cup of coffee and a delicious scone? Who needs Starbuck’s?

Here’s a basic, perfect scone recipe to start with, then you can tweak it any way you like. You can add some lemon zest and blueberries to the dough, then top it with a glaze of powdered sugar, lemon juice, and a little milk to the desired consistency. I’ve added orange zest and dried cranberries, topped with a glaze of powdered sugar and orange juice. I’ve added nuts and a little maple extract to the dough & flavored the glaze with a little maple extract. You could even make them plain, then make a little lemon curd to go with them. The possibilities are legion.

This time, I found myself with some dried strawberries. They’re like huge, super sweet, strawberry flavored raisins. What to do? I decided to chop them up, then mixed them into the dry ingredients to separate them before adding the wet ingredients. Wish I’d had a little strawberry extract to add to the glaze, but I used a little vanilla and they were the bomb anyway.  Be sure to use ALUMINUM FREE baking powder, or they will be horribly bitter to most people.

3 cups flour

2 Tablespoons aluminum free baking powder

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup melted butter

3/4 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup milk.

Mix the dry ingredients together. Mix the wet ingredients together and stir into the dry ingredients. Then I slip on some plastic gloves and form the dough into a ball. Cut the ball in half and flatten each half into a disk about 7 inches across. Cut each disk into 8 wedges.

Place the wedges on a baking sheet, keeping them about an inch apart. I like to like the baking sheet with parchment paper, but you could grease it or use a silicone mat. Bake at 425 degrees for 10-13 minutes until the tops are browned. Let cool, then you can glaze them with a little powdered sugar mixed with a dab of the extract of your choice and a little milk until it’s thin enough to brush on a thin coating.