Scones.. finally

The first time a made scones was just after I’d moved out of home. I was 19 and decided to invite my grandparents over for afternoon tea. Now my grandmother is the queen of baking in my family and her scones really can’t be beaten. At the time, I had no idea what a challenge they would be. They unfortunately turned out like little pebbles. Even though they tasted like scones they were small and hard and quite an embarrassment. All this said, my lovely grandparents smiled and chatted politely and ate more than one of these rocks each with jam and cream. I was shattered by this experience so it’s not surprising it took me 6 years to try them again. On this attempt they turned out bigger, but they were still hard and horrible. More embarrassment for me to surpress for the next few years.

Flash forward to today and I thought It was time to try again. I went through my pile of cook books and found myself a simple scone recipe from our own Donna Hay. I have to say, through every step I was dubious of the outcome, but, see for yourself..

Basic Scones

3 cups self-raising flour, sifted

1/2 cup caster sugar

75gm cold butter, chopped

1 cup milk (I used almond milk but cows is fine)

Preheat oven to 180 c

Place flour and sugar into a cooled bowl and combine.

Add the butter using your fingertips to rub it into the flour mixture until it resembles breadcrumbs.

Make a well in the centre and pour in milk gradually. Use a butter knife to gently mix the milk into the flour mixture until just combined.

Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and gently bring the dough together lightly with your hands. Avoid overworking the gluten in the dough (this is what makes my scones rocks). If it’s still a little flaky don’t worry. They will stay light and fluffy in the oven this way.

Roll dough out to 2cm thick and cut into 6cm rounds, squares or triangles (or what ever shape you like)

Place the scones onto a baking tray lined with grease-proof baking paper. Brush with a little extra milk (I also sprinkled a little sugar)

Bake for 18-20 or until cooked and lightly golden on top.

Serve with jam and cream.

Just a mere 15 years later and I have mastered the scone. Thanks for all the lemonade suggestions. I’m going to try that recipe next time; now that I know I can master the basics! Let me know what your successful recipe for scones are.