mulberryshoots

I’ve made scones before but not like these. I followed the recipe from “Bon Appetit’s best cream scones.” Usually when a recipe calls for blending cold hard butter into a dry flour mixture like this one does, I gently process it in my Cuisinart. Today, however, I used a deep shallow bowl and stirred the dry ingredients together (baking powder, soda and salt, measuring the flour loosely into a cup.)

Taking a stick of unsalted butter, I used an old fashioned pie crust thingie and mixed the flour mixture with the butter until it was the consistency of coarse corn meal. Into a well made in the middle, I folded in a beaten large egg. Gently, I added a cup and a quarter of cream, mixing it in until the flour mixture held together. It was a little sticky, but after I floured a board, just dipping my hands into some loose flour, I patted the dough until it was one inch thick. Instead of cutting the circle into wedges, I used a square crimped edge cutter, lifting the soft dough and putting it on parchment paper placed on a baking sheet.

In a preheated oven of 370 degrees (5 degrees less due to the dark finish of my baking pan,) the scones were baked until golden brown (25-30 minutes.) I had brushed the tops with cream and sprinkled sparkling sugar on top before putting the scones into the oven.

When my daughter, C. and her husband T. arrived, we split the scones in half, added warm raspberry jam and cream fraiche, a new flavor called Madagascar vanilla. It was a delicious combination eaten along with hot Lapsang Souchang tea. Fresh raspberries added to this afternoon treat.

Just lovely for a holiday respite!