Scones are one of my family’s favorites. They can be an on the go breakfast, served with tea at a brunch and even packaged up for a midday snack. Either way they have always been a big hit.
Now to me, store bought, or bakery scones and scones you make from scratch are like comparing apples to oranges. When you make scones from scratch, they will be moist and tender with a lightly sweet buttery flavor, not dense and tasteless like some store bought ones. You will get a burst of fruit with every bite, and that crispy exterior that is sprinkled with sugar, I can’t even talk about it without my mouth watering.
Now there are two things you need to know when making really good scones.
- Your butter has to be very cold. What I really like to do when I’m making a recipe that calls for cold butter is cut up my butter first then store it in the freezer until I’m ready to use it.
- Minimal handling. The less you handle the dough the more tender your scone will be.
Preheat oven to 400º. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
To a large bowl I added the flour, 3 tablespoons sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.
I removed the cold butter from the freezer and scatter it in my flour mixture.
Now the best thing to use to incorporate the butter is a pastry cutter. You can use your fingers but the heat from your hands will start to melt the butter so if you have to use your hands try to work quickly. You want to cut in your butter until the largest pieces of visible butter are pea sized. Just make sure not to over mix.
I rinsed, hulled and cut my strawberries into small pieces and added them to my flour mixture along with my lemon zest.
Using a rubber spatula, I folded the strawberries and lemon zest into the flour mixture.
I poured my dough out onto a lightly floured surface and kneaded it a few times until it came together. I formed a 6” square with about a 1 1/2” thickness.
Using a sharp knife or a food scraper I cut my dough into eight equal triangles.
I placed the scones onto the lined baking sheet and coated each one with heavy cream. I placed them in the preheated oven and baked for 20 to 22 Minutes.
I removed them from the oven and drizzled with honey and served immediately with homemade butter, YUM!!!!
Strawberry Scones
Ingredients:
- 2 Cups all purpose flour plus more for dusting
- 4 Tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 Tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 Teaspoon salt
- 6 Tablespoons very cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
- 1 1/2 Cups strawberries, rinsed, hulled and cut into small pieces
- 1 Teaspoon Cinnamon
- 1 Teaspoon lemon zest
- 1/3 Cup heavy cream plus more for coating
- 2 Eggs
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 400º. Coat a baking sheet with parchment and set aside. Cut up butter into small pieces and store in the freezer until needed.
- In a large bowl whisk together flour, 3 tablespoons granulated sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Remove butter from the freezer and scatter in the flour mixture. Using a pastry cutter or your fingers cut in butter until the butter is the size of peas. Fold in your diced strawberries and lemon zest.
- In a separate bowl whisk together eggs and 1/3 cup heavy cream. Pour cream mixture into the flour mixture and gently fold in with a rubber spatula.
- Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until dough comes together. Form dough into a 6” square. Using a sharp knife or a food scraper, cut dough into 8 equal triangles, as shown above. Transfer scones to baking sheet. Coat each scone with heavy cream and sprinkle with remaining granulated sugar and place in preheated oven for 20 to 22 minutes or until golden brown.
- Remove from oven, drizzle with honey and serve.
- Enjoy.
