Scones

With all the marmalade now in my house, I need something yummy to put it on, yes? So, scones.
I love scones. Adore them.  I have tried many many many recipes. ( I've thrown a lot of baby shower teas over the past few years!) This is by far, hands down, absolutely my favorite recipe. It's also absurdly easy, and I have successfully changed it to make many different varieties of scones.

The original recipe from Gourmet is Dried Fruit Cream Scones and includes dried fruit and raisins. You can check out the link for the original. This is the base recipe I use.

2 cups all purpose flour (I also use white wheat flour, a little healthier that way)

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup sugar

1 1/4 cups heavy cream

Preheat the oven to 425°F.

Combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar in a bowl, stirring with a fork to mix well. 

Still using a fork, stir in the cream. I find the dough to be a little dry at this point, I usually add a little extra cream in, then use my hands to work all the dry ingredients in.  I don't bother to knead it on a floured board, I just work it in the bowl until it's a malleable dough.

Then I shape it into a roughly 1 inch thick circle and cut it into whatever shape I want the scones to be. Sometimes I use glaze like in the original recipe. (brush with melted butter and sprinkle with sugar before baking.) Sometimes I don't.

Bake for about 15 minutes, or until golden brown.

They are great plain like this, or with dried fruit added.

To make savory scones (rosemary cheddar is one of my favorites!), I reduce the amount of sugar to a teaspoon or 2, then just mix in the herbs/cheese/whatever until it looks right.  ( you can brush these with melted butter before baking, without then sprinkling sugar on)