Basic Scone Recipe

Yum

I have to say that baking runs in my blood.  While I cook just about everything baking is a secret passion of mine.  (As if you couldn't tell by the dozens of muffin recipes I have!) I come from a long line of "home bakers" as it was just a matter of course in feeding their family.  Making homemade breads, pies, cakes, biscuits, and quick breads were all just part of the makeup of what they ate.  

I remember my grandma making pies and cakes in her little kitchen and the anticipation of eating her "Red Cake" as we called it.  Grandma was one of those "a little of this, a little of that" cooks.  My mom, was the "Pie Queen".  She would whip up all kinds of pies in nothing flat.  My dad's favorite was her blueberry pie, but mine was her chocolate meringue pie.  It was so chocolaty it was like having a piece of heaven!  On most weekends we include something baked for breakfast such as muffins or biscuits.  And as Dad said "there's nothing better than Mom's biscuits and gravy."  In later years we started branching out into other baked goods, namely, scones. 

BASIC SCONE RECIPE

We had never really eaten a scone when I was young.  They were just a more crumbly form of an English biscuit to us.  When I first tasted them I didn't think much of them.  They were very slightly sweet and very crumbly.  Certainly not as good as our Southern biscuits!  I think I didn't get a very good one because they started popping up all over in bakeries and Starbucks, gaining in popularity so we decided to add this to our baking repertoire.  Once we made them and tasted a really good scone, oh boy, did my viewpoint change!  Scones are really really good!

What is a scone?  Originating in Britain, this is a baked good that used flour along with baking powder as the leavening agent.  Scones can be made savory or sweet containing dried fruit such as currants.  Some scones are made with cream instead of butter and milk which produces ultra-tender and cake-like scones that are softer than the butter version. We are going to make the butter version in this recipe which is worth learning as it uses ingredients that you will most likely always have on hand.  They produce a sturdier scone with crisper edges, and are super delicious.

So while I have a few scone recipes already on my blog such as these fabulous Lemon Scones made with yogurt, or these luscious Strawberry Shortcake Scones. I noticed that I haven't posted a Basic Scone Recipe.  So here we are!  This is your basic "start here" recipe.  This is the perfect vehicle for your favorite ad-ins from cranberries to cheddar and chives.  

It's so worth it to bake your own scones!  A cold scone is something that's tolerable and better than no scone at all.  But having a hot scone, split open and spread with butter or jelly so it's ooooozing out the sides and dripping on your fingers as you eat it.  Boy! THAT’S the way to enjoy a scone.

Enjoy!

Basic Scone Recipe

Yield: 12 scones

3 cups all purpose flour

3 tbsp sugar

1/2 tsp salt

4 tsp baking powder

3/4 cup butter (cold)

1 egg

1 cup whole milk

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Add the dry ingredients to a large bowl and combine.

Using a pastry cutter cut cold butter into flour mixture until there are pea-sized pieces of butter throughout.  Add the milk and egg and mix just until combined. 

Remove the dough to a generously floured work surface and knead just til it comes together. Pat the dough out to 3/4 - 1 inch thickness and cut with a biscuit cutter.  

Place the biscuits on a baking sheet bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until golden brown on top.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack for several minutes.  Serve warm.