Spice Scones

New post for a new year!

I have been craving scones lately for some unknown reason, so this morning (or after- noon), I woke up, made myself a cup of Ethiopian Harrar coffee from a local Kansas City roaster I got from my mother for Christmas, and set to work on my first attempt at scones.

I followed a recipe from JoyOfBaking.com, but I don't have enough jam or any lemons or oranges, so I decided to add some spices. I sprinkled in some ginger, nutmeg, a dash of cloves, and a bit more of cinnamon. I skipped the dividing and layering steps for the adding of jam, kneading the dough a few times on my Silpat and then patting it out into an 8 in. circle. ( I would like to take a moment to comment on just how much I love my Silpat, and that anyone who is even semi-serious about baking should purchase one). I cut the dough into 8 triangles on a plate (don't cut on Silpat!), and then transferred the triangles back onto the Silpat in two rows, keeping them close together so that the sides of the scones wouldn't get too crispy. I finished with the egg and heavy cream wash on top, then plopped them in the oven for 15 minutes. Perfect!

My spice scones came out wonderful, just lightly brown, and after sprinkling them with powdered sugar and placing them under the broiler (still on the Silpat!) for a minute, them came out a beautiful golden brown on top. I enjoyed mine with pumpkin butter and butter. Mmmmmmm!

Here is the recipe I followed in case you are too lazy to follow the link above:

Ingredients:

2 cups (280 grams) all-purpose flour

1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated white sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup (76 grams) cold unsalted butter

Zest of 1 lemon or orange (omitted)

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup (120 ml) heavy whipping cream

1/4 cup jam or preserves (omitted)

Egg mixture for brushing tops of scones:

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1 tablespoon heavy cream

Process:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) and place rack in middle of oven. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. *I added the spices here with the rest of the dry ingredients.* Cut the butter into small pieces and blend into the flour mixture with a pastry blender or two knives. The mixture should look like coarse crumbs. Stir in the lemon or orange zest. In a small measuring cup combine the whipping cream, beaten egg and vanilla. Add this mixture to the flour mixture. Stir until just combined. Do not over mix.

Transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead dough gently four or five times and then divide the dough in half. Pat or roll each half of the dough into a circle that is about 8 inches (20 cm) round. Spread the jam on one round of the dough and then place the second layer of dough on top of the jam, gently sealing the edges. Cut this circle in half, then cut each half into 4 pie-shaped wedges (triangles). Place the scones on the baking sheet. Make an egg wash of one well-beaten egg mixed with 1 tablespoon milk and brush the tops of the scones with this mixture. This helps to brown the tops of the scones during baking.

Bake for about 15 minutes or until lightly browned and a toothpick inserted into the center of a scone comes out clean. Remove from oven and then turn your broiler on high. Sift confectioners (powdered or icing) sugar heavily over the tops of the scones and place them under the broiler. Broil for just a few seconds, turning the pan as necessary, until the sugar has melted and turns golden brown. Make sure to watch the scones carefully as the sugar will burn very quickly. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Before serving, garnish with a dollop of Devon Cream or softly whipped cream.

These scones freeze very well.

Makes 8 scones.

Enjoy!