I have copied two recipes here. I have ended up combining them and making small changes. I’ve put my own (easier) version at the end of this post, but feel free to try out these recipes straight from the book. Beware of the ingredient list saying to use lard and/or margarine. I didn’t notice that it says that on the recipe until a commenter pointed it out. I always use butter, even though it has fat problems of its own. But margarine makes me shudder (sorry, if you’re a margarine fan) and lard is probably a quicker path to a heart attack than butter is, but that’s just my humble opinion.
The scones are very easy to make if you have a food processor to mix the butter with the flour. The old pastry blender method is just too much work.
Some changes to the recipe?
I only use the baking soda if I add a squeeze of lemon (and I usually do add lemon).
I use two eggs if I have them to spare, rather than only one. One time I completely forgot to put the eggs in and they still turned out okay. The biscuit is very forgiving that way.
You can add grated cheese instead of currants. Probably there are a lot of things you could add if you wanted (chopped nuts, dried cranberries, raisins), but preferably not all in one batch.
One thing you don’t want to do is handle the dough too much. It makes the biscuits tougher if you do.
Here is my version of the recipe. You can substitute and change things without fear of doing too much damage. I like to use a lot of sour cream and less milk, but it depends what’s in the fridge that day.
Scones
All the dry ingredients go into the food processor:
3 cups flour
1/2 tsp. salt
3 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda (if using a squeeze of lemon for flavour)
3 Tbsp. sugar (optional)
Then add about 3/4 cup (or up to 1 cup) of butter and pulse the food processor until the butter is cut into the flour mixture evenly.
Pour the dry mixture that now has the butter in it, into a large bowl.
Add the currants or whatever additive you’ve decided on (dates, dried cranberries, nuts, or cheese) and stir them into the flour mixture.
Next step:
In a large measuring cup, stir an egg (or two if you like) with a whisk, reserving some of the egg mixture for a wash on top of the batter before putting it in the oven. Add enough milk to make a cup. At this point I also add, as part of that one cup of liquid, whatever I have on hand (yogurt or sour cream) and a generous squeeze of lemon or lime – just to get the baking soda working well. You may have to add a drop more liquid if you use sour cream or yogurt. Mix the liquid well with a whisk.
Pour the liquid into the large bowl with the dry ingredients and mix gently (more like folding it in).
Pat the dough together and flatten it on a buttered cookie sheet. Use your lightly floured hands to press it out into a rectangle about half to three-quarters of an inch, and paint with the egg wash. Cut the batter into about 15 squares (two lengthwise cuts and four crosswise cuts). Put into the preheated oven at 400 for 25 to 30 minutes until they are golden brown.
Make yourself a cup of tea or coffee and enjoy.
wordsfromanneli 