Old Country Danish Scones Recipes

COUNTRY SCONES

Steps:

• Place currants in a bowl. Cover with hot water and let stand for 5 minutes. Drain well and set aside. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Combine sour cream and egg yolks; add to crumb mixture. Stir in currants just until blended. , Turn onto a floured surface; knead gently 8-10 times. Divide into four portions. On ungreased baking sheets, pat dough into 4-in. circles. Cut each into four wedges, but do not separate. , Beat egg white; brush over dough. Combine sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle over tops. Bake at 425° for 15-18 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm.

PERFECTLY BUTTERY CREAM SCONES, 5 WAYS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425°F. Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Cut butter into flour mixture with two forks or a pastry blender until crumbly and mixture resembles small peas. Freeze until butter is hard, 14 to 16 minutes. Add cream stirring with a fork just until dry ingredients are moistened. Gently knead into a ball in the bowl.
• Turn dough out onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Pat dough into an 8-inch circle (about ¾- to 1-inch thick). Cut into 8 wedges; separate wedges about ½ inch. Brush with egg.
• Bake, rotating baking sheet once, until golden brown and center is firm, 22 to 25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack; cool 10 minutes. Drizzle with Buttermilk Glaze.
• Make Buttermilk Glaze: Whisk together confectioners' sugar, buttermilk, and vanilla extract in a bowl until smooth.
• Omit Buttermilk Glaze. Whisk tangerine zest, 1/3 cup tangerine marmalade, and finely chopped fresh rosemary into cream. Microwave 1/4 cup tangerine marmalade and 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary until just melted. Brush over warm scones. Garnish with small rosemary sprig.
• Reduce sugar to 2 tablespoons and omit Buttermilk Glaze. Toss scallions, crumbled feta, and cracked black pepper into flour mixture before adding cream.
• Toss blueberries, lemon zest, and finely crushed lavender blossoms into flour mixture. Sprinkle glazed scones with a few lavender blossoms.
• Reduce sugar to 2 tablespoons. Toss country ham, shredded extra sharp Cheddar, jalapeño into flour mixture. Top dough wedges with jalapeño slices before baking.

ENGLISH SCONES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar and baking powder. Cut in butter until mixture resembles fine crumbs. Stir in raisins. Beat milk and egg; add to dry ingredients, stirring lightly. , Turn onto a lightly floured surface; roll to 1-in. thickness. Cut with a 2-1/2-in. biscuit cutter. Bake at 425° until golden brown, 10-15 minutes. Serve warm.

CLOTTED CREAM AND ENGLISH SCONES

Steps:

• In a double boiler over medium heat bring the cream to 175 degrees. If you don't have a double boiler (and I don't) place a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of water. Stir a little so that the cream heats evenly. Once you reach 175, bring up the temperature-180 to 200 degrees. Keep that temp for about 45 minutes to an hour. At this point the cream will take on a cracked, yellow skin. Next, remove the bowl or top of your double boiler and settle in a pan of ice water to cool quickly. Cover with plastic wrap and stow in the fridge overnight. Then carefully skim the clotted cream off the top with a shallow spoon and layer it into a bowl. It will keep for about a week in your fridge. Use the rest of the cream as you would regular cream (it will be thinner than heavy cream, but can still be added to beverages).Serve your clotted cream with strawberries or jam on a scone, a slice of pie, or anything that lends itself to cream.
• Preheat the oven to 425 and prepare a baking sheet with butter or parchment paper. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together and then work in the butter. Make a well in the middle and then add the egg and milk. Mix to form a soft dough.Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and then knead quickly until the dough comes together. Roll out the dough to an inch thick, then cut into rounds with a biscuit cutter or water glass. Move to the baking sheet and brush the tops with the beaten egg. Bake for 8 minutes or until golden.

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.

THE BEST SCONES RECIPE

Steps:

• Dry ingredients: In a large bowl, combine 2 and 1/2 cups flour, 1/2 cup sugar**, 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, and 1 and 1/2 tablespoons baking powder.
• Wet ingredients: In another medium bowl, add 1 egg, 2 teaspoons vanilla (omit for savory scones), 1/3 cup cream and 1/3 cup sour cream. Whisk it together. Set aside.
• Cut in butter: Now back to the dry ingredients. Use a pastry cutter to cut in the COLD or frozen butter. You can also grate the butter using a cheese grater and mix it in that way. Cut the butter in until it is incorporated and there are still pieces of butter about the size of a pea. Don't overdo it! See photos.
• Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Use a wooden spoon to stir it together until it forms a shaggy dough.
• Coat your hands with flour and finish kneading the dough in as few strokes as possible. (Overworking the dough makes for a tough scone.) Use your hands to fold the dough on top of itself, creating more and more layers until it has come together and all the flour is incorporated. You can add a tablespoon or two of ice cold water if you think it's necessary. I try to get the dough to come together in 5-8 folds. Do your best and remember that you will get better with practice!
• Mix-ins: At this point add in any mix ins you plan to use. (If you want to add cream cheese like you can see in the photos, chop an 8 ounce block of cream cheese into 1/2 inch chunks. Coat with 1/3 to 1/2 cup sugar in a bowl, making sure all the cream cheese is coated. Carefully fold into the dough.)
• Prepare a work space with plenty of flour. I like to use a pastry cloth. Transfer the dough to the work place and use your hands to shape the dough into a 6 to 8 inch circle. I like really thick, tall scones. The thicker your circle of dough is, the taller your scones will be. If you added mix ins, your circle will be a bit larger.
• Use a sharp knife or pizza cutter to cut the circle in half. Cut each half into 3 equal triangles.
• Place on a baking sheet that has been lined with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. Place the scones at least 3 inches apart from each other.
• Freeze for 30 minutes.*** If you don't have room in your freezer, you can put them in the fridge for 45 minutes. If you don't have room to chill a whole baking sheet, place the scones on a plate and then transfer to the baking sheet when they are frozen/cold.
• 15 minutes before the scones are done freezing, turn your oven on to 400 degrees F.
• Place the cold scones on a baking sheet if you haven't done so yet.
• Brush the top of each scone with cream. This will make the scones get nice and brown. Top each scone with coarse sugar if you like, or a bit of salt if you are doing savory scones.
• Bake: Put the scones in the oven and bake for 10 minutes at 400 degrees.
• Turn the heat down to 375 without opening the oven.**** Bake for another 8-15 minutes, until the tops are golden brown. DO NOT OVER BAKE. This is where the magic happens, so stay nearby. If you over bake your scones, they will be dry even if you did everything else right. If you are not sure, use a spatula to lift up one of the scones. If they are a nice golden brown on the bottom, they are done.
• Remove from the oven and let set up on the pan for 10-15 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
• Make the glaze: in a small bowl, whisk or use an electric beater to cream 2 tablespoons of very soft butter. Add 1 and 1/2 cups powdered sugar, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, and 1 tablespoon milk. Whisk together and add more milk until you have a consistency you like. Drizzle over the tops of the scones and let harden (it usually takes 20-30 minutes.)
• Top your scones with butter and jam! They are great reheated in the microwave.
• Store scones covered on the counter for 2-4 days. They are best eaten on day 1 so that you can get those crispy edges. After storing for a while it's hard to avoid a bit of sogginess. (Starbucks solves this problem but leaving them out in the air, but then eventually the center gets dried out. So, pick your poison. Or just eat all 6 scones single handedly on day 1. No judgment here.)

OLD FASHIONED CREAM SCONES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease a cookie sheet.
• In a large bowl, stir together the all purpose flour, whole wheat flour, baking powder, 2 tablespoons sugar and salt. Using a pastry blender or fork, cut the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles fine bread crumbs. Stir in eggs and cream to make a firm dough. Turn mixture onto a lightly floured surface and briefly knead until dough sticks together.
• Divide the dough into 8 or 10 pieces, and round out the edges. Place onto the prepared cookie sheet, brush with egg white and sprinkle with remaining sugar.
• Bake at 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) for 12 to 15 minutes, or until golden brown.

OLD COUNTRY DANISH SCONES

Steps:

• 1. In a large bowl, mix flour, powdered milk, salt, sugar and baking powder. Add warm water and stir to combine (mixture will be wet). On a well-floured surface, pat out dough until 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick. Cut into pieces of whatever size youd like your scones to be. 2. Fill a pan 4 to 5 inches high with vegetable oil and heat to 365 degrees on a deep-fat fry thermometer. (This should be hot enough so that when you add scones they start to bubble right away and float.) Fry dough pieces in batches until they turn light golden brown, about 3 to 4 minutes per batch. Make sure oil gets back up to temperature before adding more dough. 3. Serve with optional toppings. (My grandma always put out an assortment of jellies and jams, honey and heaps of butter.)