The Empress Scones Recipes

SCONE RECIPE: THE BEST SCONES EVER

Steps:

• Kick the tires & light the fires to 350 degrees.
• Take your bowl with your cup of sour cream, and mix in the baking soda.
• Whisk together the flour, sugar,baking powder and salt in a large mixing bowl.
• Cut in the butter using a pastry blender or two knives in a criss-cross fashion, until the butter is broken into pea sized morsels in the flour.
• Beat the egg and mix in into the sour cream.
• Add the sour cream mixture into the dry mixture, working it in.
• The dough can be a bit dry, but if you use your hands to combine it, it will be perfect. If needed add milk until it's combined. The secret to a good scone is a drier dough, not gluey.
• When the dough is combined, mix in the fruit. I fold in delicate berries by hand.
• Divide into three equal circles, patting each into a circle that is one inch thick (width ranges from 6-7 inches). Cut each circle into six equal triangles.
• Bake on a well greased or parchment lined baking sheet for 15-20 minutes, until the scones are browned nicely on the bottom and slightly on the top. Watch them carefully!
• Serve and enjoy!

THE EMPRESS SCONES

Steps:

• Crumb flour, butter, sugar, baking powder and salt.
• Add 5 eggs, slowly and separate the 6th egg and add the white into the batter; the yellow half of the 6th egg is used to do the egg wash.
• Add raisins.
• Add cream and mix into a smooth dough.
• Roll out to 1/2-inch thickness.
• Cut into desired size and shape.
• Egg wash scones and bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.
• Serve with clotted cream and jam.

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.)

RASPBERRY SCONES RECIPE

Steps:

• In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add the butter and rub it into the flour mixture with your fingertips, two butter knives, or a pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse meal and no pieces of butter are larger than a pea.
• In a glass measuring cup, beat together the cream, egg, and vanilla. Pour the cream mixture into the flour and butter mixture, and stir until a dough forms.
• Lightly flour a clean work surface and turn out the dough. Scatter the raspberries on top of the dough and gently kneading the raspberries into the dough for 10 seconds, until the raspberries are evenly distributed throughout.Do note that because of the raspberries, the dough will be quite moist at this point; so be sure to lightly flour the work surface as needed to prevent sticking.
• Pat the dough into a square about 3/4 in/2 cm thick and let it rest for 15 minutes. Preheat the oven to 425ºF/220ºC and line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Once the oven has preheated, use a knife to cut the dough into 9 squares and put them on the prepared baking sheet. Or use a 2-inch /5cm round cutter or the rim of a glass dipped in flour to punch out circles of dough. Be sure to cut them as closely to one another as possible; you should get 6 rounds, and when you pat the dough back together (it doesn't need to be a square this time), you should be able to get 3 more rounds. Avoid re-rolling the dough during this second stage, as this will result in tough scones.
• In a small bowl, beat together the egg, sugar, and salt. Lightly brush the tops of the dough pieces with the mixture and wait 1 minute until the topping sets. Sprinkle the tops with more sugar (about 1/2 tsp per scone) and bake for 13 to 18 minutes, until the scones are golden brown. Be sure to rotate the pan halfway through baking.
• Allow the scones to sit on the pan for 2 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack to cool slightly for 5 to 10 more minutes before serving.
• Serve the same day with butter, jam, and a delicious warm beverage.