Saturday Morning Scones

I always wake up early on Saturday mornings, well early for a Saturday anyway. Today I woke up at 8 to a pair big puppy eyes peering over the edge of the bed below a pair of perked up, expectant tan colored ears. After Lucy’s business of the morning was taken care of, I couldn’t go back to sleep, so I just made some coffee.

School starts in a couple weeks, so figuring that I probably won’t have the energy to wake up early on Saturdays I’ve decided to take advantage of the few that I have left. So I made scones.

I’ve only attempted to make scones one other time, and they didn’t work out very well. Instead of using a fork or a pastry blender for my previous attempted I tried rubbing in the butter with my fingers. People say that this works, but I’ve never been successful with the technique. The dough always ends up tough and rubbery; I think because I end up overworking it and because the heat from my hands makes the butter too warm.

I used a fork this time although it would have been much easier with a pastry blender. Unfortunately, I don’t have a pastry blender; a fork gets the job done but takes a little more effort.

As far as baking goes these are relatively easy to make. It’s not required to sift anything, you don’t have to break out the mixer; the hardest part is probably grating all the cheese. Keeping the wet ingredients cold makes these tender and flakey.

I love that scones can be sweet or savory. Really they can be what ever you might have on hand. I chose cheddar and dill because I tend to love cheesy things with a cup of coffee (probably from all the late nights in Gary’s coffee shop in high school) and dill seemed like a good compliment. So I curled up with a cup of coffee and a scone and watched the New Yankee Workshop and Victory Garden this morning, and it was fantastic.

 

Saturday Morning Cheddar Scones

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp dried dill
• 1/2 tsp ground mustard
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, very cold
• 8 oz sharp cheddar grated plus a bit for sprinkling on top
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1 tbs milk
• 1 large egg

Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, dill, dried mustard, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Cut in butter with a fork or a pastry blender mixture should be coarse with some pea size pieces and some a bit bigger. Then fold in cheddar leaving aside about 3/4 cup for sprinkling on top.

In a small bowl, whisk sour cream, egg and milk until smooth.

Using a fork or your hands if you like, stir sour cream mixture into flour mixture until large dough clumps form. Use your hands to press the dough against the bowl into a ball. The dough will be sticky in places, it might seem like there’s not enough liquid at first, but is should come together as you press. If it doesn’t, throw in a little more milk.

Turn dough out on to a lightly floured surface, kneed a couple times to make sure it’s all together. pat or roll with a pin into a 7- to 8-inch rectangle about 3/4-inch thick. Use a sharp knife to cut into triangles; I got about 13 out of it, depends on how big you want them. place on a cookie sheet (preferably lined with parchment paper or silpat), about 1 inch apart. Bake until golden, about 15 minutes. sprinkle with remaining cheddar and put back in oven for a few minutes to melt cheese. Cool for 5 minutes and serve warm or at room temperature.