Scones!
The biscuit-like quick breads originated in Scotland in the 16th Century. By the 18th Century, they were a fixture on the English afternoon tea table.
More recently, they were popularized by Queen Elizabeth II who reportedly adored them topped with bespoke strawberry jam from Balmoral and clotted cream. So proud was she of her scones, that she served them to President Eisenhower when he made a state visit in 1960. After he left, the Queen dashed off the recipe and mailed the note (shown below) to him.
Here is a variation on the Queen’s recipe from America’s Test Kitchen’s cookbook Boards: Stylish Spreads For Casual Gatherings. You can find the book at your local bookstore or on Amazon here.
For my “afternoon tea,” I enjoyed the scones with mascarpone and English strawberry jam (Tiptee’s Little Scarlet Jam) as Juliet sat corgi-like at my feet hoping to cadge a few crumbs.
I’m with Elizabeth R; they’re pretty wonderful!
Currant Scones
Ingredients
- 3 C. all-purpose flour
- 1/3 C. sugar (granulated)
- 2 T. baking powder
- 1/2 t. salt
- 8 T. unsalted butter (softened and cut into 1/2-inch pieces)
- 3/4 C. dried currants
- 1 C. whole milk
- 2 large eggs
Directions
- Step 1 Line a tray with parchment paper.
- Step 2 Preheat oven to 500 degrees F.
- Step 3 Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse to mix ingredients.
- Step 4 Add butter and pulse until the butter is incorporated into the flour mixture and the mixture looks like crumbs. Pour this flour/butter mixture into a bowl, stir in the currants, and set the bowl aside.
- Step 5 Mix milk and eggs together in a separate bowl, (setting aside 2 T. of the milk mixture to be used later to brush the tops of the scones before baking).
- Step 6 Pour the milk and egg mixture into the flour mixture. Using a rubber spatula, fold the ingredients together. You want all the dry flour to be moistened. This mixture will be very crumbly.
- Step 7 Pour the crumbly flour mixture onto your counter. Use your hands to gather the mixture into a ball. Knead a few times until the dough is smooth. Form the dough into a disk.
- Step 8 Roll the dough out into a 9-inch disk (about 1 inch thick) with a floured rolling pin on a floured counter surface. Using a 2 1/2 inch round cutter, cut the dough into 8 round scones.
- Step 9 Place the scones onto the prepared baking tray. Brush the tops of the scones with the reserved milk/egg mixture. Reduce the heat in your oven to 425 degrees F. and bake for 10-12 minutes. Rotate the baking tray halfway through the baking. The tops of the scones should be a medium brown.
- Step 10 Once baked, remove scones from oven and let them cool for about 15 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature with butter, jam or jam and mascarpone (as I did in the photo).
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