Felt the urge to bake… in the hopes that I would come out of my Holiday funk. So I pulled out the ‘ole Joy of Cooking to make some truly yummy buttermilk scones.
PreStuff: Pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees F.
First… Dry Stuff: Sieve all the dry ingredients together.
2 cups of flour, 1/4 cup sugar, 4 teaspoons baking powder (make sure it is fresh and not that old stuff that has been sitting in your pantry for years! Unless of course you like flat hockey puck scones.) 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon baking soda (again, not the stuff that has been sitting in your fridge absorbing all the onion smells, FRESH).
Second… Wet Stuff: In a separate bowl whisk together:
1 large egg (fresh, fresh, fresh, check the expiration date on those eggs, it DOES matter) 1 cup low-fat buttermilk
3 1/2 tablespoons warm melted butter (Warm… not boiling… don’t want to cook that egg!).
1/2 cup dried fruit. (I used cherries, cranberries, blueberries and golden raisins) I chopped them even though it was not in the recipe… I was shooting for more fruit per bite.
Pour the wet into the dry and mix together with a rubber spatula. Just until all the dry ingredients are moist. Don’t mix more than you have too. The more you mix the more gluten you create… that makes for a tough scone. Blech. If it is looking a bit dry add more buttermilk. Use your judgement, don’t leave alot of dry flour in the bowl… but don’t make it soupy… should be a fairly stiff batter when you are done.
Now… the Fun Stuff:Scoop out the batter with an ice cream scoop or a soup spoon and drop on a baking sheet (or in my case a piece of aluminum foil… since I broke mine and have not replaced it). Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon and bake for 12-15 minutes.
Remove from oven and burn your mouth trying to eat one that is too hot, put the rest of them on a rack to cool.
Enjoy with a nice cup or Earl Grey or your favorite coffee!
