Scone Variations

If you've been reading my blog for a while, you probably recognize that I love cooking for people I love--although if you remove the people I love, I probably wouldn't enjoy it nearly so much.  (I guess I will find out next year when Sweet Teen heads off to university--although I may just find some more people to love.....)  In any case, I love the comfort of home baked breakfast treats on the weekends.

Here's my recipe for scones with a bit of a nutritional boost.

 Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Mix these dry ingredients together in a medium to large mixing bowl:

 2 cups flour
1/2 cup ground flax seed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon baking powder

You can use 1/3 cup brown sugar and mix it into the dry ingredients or 1/3 cup blue agave syrup and mix it into the following ingredients:

1-1/2 cups heavy whipping cream plus 1/4 cup water
OR
1-3/4 cups half and half
1/2 cup dried date pieces (or 1/2 cup any dried fruit)
2 tablespoons freshly grated orange peel or 1 tablespoon dried orange peel

(Optional: mix 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract into the cream or half and half.)

Pour over dry ingredients and stir until mixed.  Then using hands, finish mixing ingredients in mixing bowl or turn onto a floured board and finish mixing (using hands).

Shape into 15 to 18 balls of dough and flatten slightly.  Place on Sil-Pat, Flexipat, or on a cookie sheet or jelly roll pan that has been sprayed or rubbed with grapeseed oil or olive oil.

Optional:  Using silicone brush, paint tops with cream or half-and-half.

Bake for approximately 18 to 20 minutes until golden (and toothpick inserted into center of scone is removed clean).

NOTE:  We live at 6200 feet, so our flour dries out quickly, which means you may need less liquid closer to sea level.

You could use granulated sugar or honey just as easily as blue agave syrup.  I like the blue agave syrup because it is metabolized more slowly.

If you prefer traditional wedge-shaped scones, you can pat the dough into a circle about 1/2 inch thick on your pastry mat and cut into wedges with the edge of a dough scraper.  (I like the round shapes because they cook more evenly than the wedge shapes.)

If you decide to make fewer but larger scones, you may need to add a  bit more baking time.

 These are wonderful served with softened cream cheese, creme fraiche, or orange marmalade (or even a spread of cream cheese, marmalade, and a few more date pieces). Left over scones can be stored in a one-gallon ziplock bag.  To reheat, wrap two scones in a moistened paper towel and heat in microwave for 20 to 30 seconds.  This wet-wrapped reheating will also soften scones that have lingered for several days.

If you try these, please let me know how you like them. They are so easy to make and so much less expensive and more delicious than the ones you can buy at bakeries (and can definitely be ready to eat in less time than it would take to walk or drive to the bakery and back).

Okay, we should get back to quiltmaking, or at least I should.....