Crumbly Currant Scones Recipes

CRANBERRY SCONES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a bowl, whisk together flour, 5 tablespoons sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut in butter with a pastry blender or two knives until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in 2/3 cup half-and-half until just moistened. Gently fold in cranberries.
• On a lightly floured surface, knead dough gently, 5 to 10 times. Pat into a 1-inch-thick round. Cut into 8 wedges; place on a baking sheet, 2 inches apart. Brush tops with remaining tablespoon half-and-half; sprinkle with remaining tablespoon sugar. Bake until golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack.

SIMPLE SCONES

Steps:

• Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• In a medium bowl, mix flour, 1/3 cup sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Grate butter into flour mixture on the large holes of a box grater; use your fingers to work in butter (mixture should resemble coarse meal), then stir in raisins.
• In a small bowl, whisk sour cream and egg until smooth.
• Using a fork, 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, and there may not seem to be enough liquid at first, but as you press, the dough will come together.)
• Place on a lightly floured surface and pat into a 7- to 8-inch circle about 3/4-inch thick. Sprinkle with remaining 1 tsp. of sugar. Use a sharp knife to cut into 8 triangles; place on a cookie sheet (preferably lined with parchment paper), about 1 inch apart. Bake until golden, about 15 to 17 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes and serve warm or at room temperature.

HOW TO MAKE PERFECT SCONES

Steps:

• Whisk flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder together in a large bowl. Grate the frozen butter using a box grater. Add it to the flour mixture and combine with a pastry cutter, two forks, or your fingers until the mixture comes together in pea-sized crumbs. See video above for a closer look at the texture. Place in the refrigerator or freezer as you mix the wet ingredients together.
• Whisk 1/2 cup heavy cream, the egg, and vanilla extract together in a small bowl. Drizzle over the flour mixture, add the add-ins, then mix together until everything appears moistened.
• Pour onto the counter and, with floured hands, work dough into a ball as best you can. Dough will be sticky. If it's too sticky, add a little more flour. If it seems too dry, add 1-2 more Tablespoons heavy cream. Press into an 8-inch disc and, with a sharp knife or bench scraper, cut into 8 wedges. For smaller scones, press dough into two 5-inch discs and cut each into 8 wedges. To make 10-12 drop scones: Keep mixing dough in the bowl until it comes together. Drop scones, about 1/4 cup of dough each, 3 inches apart on a lined baking sheet. To make mini (petite) scones, see recipe note.
• Brush scones with remaining heavy cream and for extra crunch, sprinkle with coarse sugar. (You can do this before or after refrigerating in the next step.)
• Place scones on a plate or lined baking sheet (if your fridge has space!) and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400°F (204°C).
• Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mat(s). If making mini or drop scones, use 2 baking sheets. After refrigerating, arrange scones 2-3 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet(s).
• Bake for 18-26 minutes or until golden brown around the edges and lightly browned on top. Larger scones take closer to 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool for a few minutes. Feel free to top with any of the toppings listed in the recipe Note below.
• Leftover scones keep well at room temperature for 2 days or in the refrigerator for 5 days.

CHEF JOHN'S SCONES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• Whisk flour, white sugar, baking powder, and salt in a mixing bowl. Cut in butter with a knife or pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
• Stir together 1/2 cup milk, sour cream, and currants in a small bowl; stir into flour mixture with a fork until just moistened and holding together.
• Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface and pat into rectangle.
• Fold the rectangle in thirds. Turn dough a half turn, gather any crumbs, flatten back into a rectangle, and repeat. Cut into eight pieces and place each scone on a silicone baking mat.
• Whisk egg and 1 tablespoon milk together in a small bowl; brush mixture on top of each scone.
• Bake scones in the preheated oven until risen and golden brown, about 15 minutes. Remove and transfer to cooling rack.

CRUMBLIEST SCONES

Steps:

• First and foremost, brilliant scones are about having the confidence to do as little as possible, so do what I say and they'll be really great; and the second and third time you make them you'll get the dough into a solid mass even quicker, even better.
• Put the dried fruit into a bowl and pour over just enough orange juice to cover. Ideally, leave it for a couple of hours. Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/gas 6.
• Put your butter, flour, baking powder, sugar and a good pinch of sea salt into a mixing bowl and use your thumbs and forefingers to break up the butter and rub it into the flour so you get little cornflake-sized pieces. Make a well in the middle of the dough, add the eggs and milk, and stir it up with a spatula.
• Drain your soaked fruit and add that to the mixture. Add a tiny splash of milk if needed, until you have a soft, dry dough. Move it around as little as possible to get it looking like a scruffy mass - at this point, you're done. Sprinkle over some flour, cover the bowl with clingfilm and pop it into the fridge for 15 minutes.
• Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface until it's about 2 to 3cm thick. With a 6cm round cutter or the rim of a glass, cut out circles from the dough and place them upside down on a baking sheet - they will rise better that way (so they say). Re-roll any offcuts to use up the dough.
• Brush the top of each scone with the extra milk or some melted butter and bake in the oven for 12 to 15 minutes, or until risen and golden. At that point, take them out of the oven and leave them to cool down a little.
• Serve with clotted cream and a little jam or lemon curd.

CRUMBLY CURRANT SCONES

Steps:

• Whisk flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Using a pastry blender, cut in butter until mixture forms coarse crumbs with a few large clumps. Fold in currants.
• Make a well in center of flour mixture; pour in 2 cups cream. Using your hands, draw dry ingredients over cream, gradually gathering and combining the dough until it just comes together. If it is too dry, add more cream, 1 tablespoon at a time.
• Turn out dough onto a lightly floured work surface. With lightly floured hands, gently pat dough into a 7-by-11-inch rectangle, about 1 inch thick. Using a sharp knife, cut the rectangle into 16 triangles. Transfer triangles to baking sheets lined with parchment paper; cover with plastic wrap, and freeze until very firm, at least 2 hours or overnight.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly beat egg yolk with remaining 1/4 cup cream in a small bowl; brush over tops of scones. Sprinkle generously with sanding sugar, if desired. Bake until golden and flecked with brown spots, 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer scones to a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature. Scones are best eaten the day they are baked.

MINIATURE CREAM SCONES WITH CURRANTS

Steps:

• In a bowl whisk together 1/2 cup of the cream, the egg, the vanilla, and 3 tablespoons of the sugar until the mixture is combined well. In another bowl stir together the flour, the salt, the baking powder, and the baking soda and blend in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in the currants and the cream mixture with a fork until the mixture just forms a sticky but manageable dough. Knead the dough gently on a lightly floured surface for 30 seconds, pat it into a 1/2-inch-thick round, and with a 1 1/2-inch fluted cutter cut it into rounds. Gather the scraps, repat the dough, and cut out more rounds. On an ungreased baking sheet brush the scones with the additional cream and sprinkle them with the additional sugar. Bake the scones in the middle of a preheated 400°F. oven for 15 to 18 minutes, or until they are golden.

CURRANT SCONES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Cover currants with warm water in a bowl and set aside to moisten.
• Sift flour, baking powder, and baking soda in the bowl of a stand mixer. Using the paddle attachment at low speed, mix white sugar and salt into the flour mixture. Add all the unsalted butter to the mixer bowl and mix on low speed until butter cubes reduce to the size of small peas, about 30 seconds.
• Drain currants and discard soaking water; mix currants, buttermilk, and lemon zest into the flour mixture on low speed just until the dough starts to hold together.
• Turn dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and gently shape into a rectangle 18 inches long, 5 inches wide, and 1 1/2 inches thick. Brush dough with melted butter and sprinkle with sugar crystals.
• Cut the dough in half crosswise with a sharp knife; cut each half into thirds, and cut each third diagonally to make 12 triangular-shaped scones. Place on the prepared baking sheet.
• Bake in the preheated oven until scones are lightly golden brown, about 18 minutes. Eat warm.

CLASSIC CURRANT SCONES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Whisk together flour, wheat germ, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Stir in currants. Add cream, and stir just until combined.
• Turn dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Gently gather dough into a mound just until it holds together. Pat into an 8-inch circle about 1/2 inch thick. Cut into 8 wedges.
• Arrange wedges on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Brush tops with melted butter. Bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Transfer scones to a wire rack, and let cool slightly. Serve warm or at room temperature with softened butter.