Buttermilk Scones

Scones. I love my cup of tea. And I love a scone with that. But lately, I've enjoyed baking the scones even more than eating them. My in laws do not eat eggs and nor do they like baked goods that are too sweet. This recipe works fabulously for them– no sugar, berries give it a natural sweetness and there aren't any eggs! 


Last week I went to Alice's Tea Cup for tea with my mother and we loved their classic and famous buttermilk scone. We loved it so much that we returned there yesterday again with my father, where they bought me the cookbook. Today I baked a batch of buttermilk scones from the cookbook.


With baking, the rule is to not change ingredients and definitely to not mess around with the quantities, but this time I made two changes to this recipe: 1. I used low-fat buttermilk over the requested full-fat buttermilk asked for in the recipe and 2. Added dried berries to the dough. You can flavor this as you'd like– use any dried fruit, nuts, chocolate chips, candied ginger… 


Makes 10 to 12 scones


3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp kosher salt
1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) unsalted butter, melted
3/4 cup buttermilk


Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 425F
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt
3. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients, and pour the butter and buttermilk into the well.
4. With clean hands, combine the ingredients until all the dry mixture is wet, but do not knead! 
5. Add 2 cups of mixed dried berries (I used dried cherries and strawberries, but use as you wish.)
6. Turn the mixture onto a floured surface and gather the dough together. Gently pat the dough to make a rectangle about 1 1/2-inches thick. 
7. Fold it like you would fold a letter, this helps create small air pockets in the dough which makes the scones light and airy. Roll the dough out again until it is 1 1/2-inches thick. 
8. Cut the scones into squares, lay them on a nonstick baking sheet.
9. Bake the scones for about 12 minutes, or until lightly browned. 

Serve with clotted cream and jam and a perfectly brewed cup of tea. 

The cookbook also shares a fabulous tip:

In the unlikely event that you're left with uneaten scones after three days, it's time to make one wonderful biscotti! Just cut the scones into 1/2-to-1-inch thick slices and bake them at 350F for about 5 minutes on each side. For an extra treat, sprinkle a little sugar on each side before baking. Yum!