Scones

Today, I got the urge to bake something. I don't have any classes tomorrow (only a work meeting) and I have Monday off as well for Patriot's day. So, I wanted to make something nice to celebrate the weekend. I thought of cream puffs or croissants, but I didn't really have the energy for something fussy. Scones seemed to be the perfect fit.

Per the recipe, I started off with the dry ingredients:

2 3/4 cups flour

1/3 cup sugar

3/4 tsp salt

1 tbsp baking powder

I used half all purpose flour and half whole wheat flour. Just because I wanted to. After mixing these ingredients together, I added in the butter:

1/2 cup cold butter

I cut in the butter until the mixture was crumbly, like making a pie crust. This is easier with a stand mixer, so I just kneaded the butter in by hand. Then, it was time to stir in any add-ins. Fruit, nuts, chocolate chips, whatever I wanted. I decided to go with dried cranberries and seeds, because I wanted to flavor my scone with almond extract later, and I figured that these would go well with almond. I added in 1/2 cup. Then, in a separate bowl, I added together the wet ingredients:

2 eggs

1/2 cup milk

2 tsp extract of your choice

I poured the wet ingredients into the dry ones, and mixed all of it together thoroughly. Next, I prepped a baking sheet with parchment paper and sprinkled some flour on top. I scraped all of the dough onto the sheet, and divided it into halves. I rounded each half and pressed it down until they were each about 3/4 inch thick. 

 

Then, I sprinkled the top of each with brown sugar, and cut them into six wedges (12 wedges/scones total). 

 

I pulled each wedge apart to give it some room to grow and bake. 

 

Then, the recipe recommends that you put the scones in the freezer uncovered for 30 minutes for the best texture. My freezer couldn't fit the baking sheet, so I popped them in the fridge. In the meantime, I cleaned up my space and preheated my oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.  

After 30 minutes in the fridge, I took them out and put them in the oven to bake for 20 minutes! I took them out when they were nice and golden brown.

 

These scones turned out really delicious. They were fluffy and crispy, and just sweet enough. I enjoyed one with some strawberries and iced mint tea made from the mint from my backyard garden. It was the perfect way to start off this long weekend!