Strawberry Scones

I have had these bookmarked forever, since I saw them on the now non-existent Good Things Catered blog (Katie, I miss you). When I was perusing Annie's scone recipes (she has a TON), I found these and remembered how long I have wanted to make them. I had a bunch of yummy berries so went for it. I did follow her instructions on flash-freezing, and I ate then throughout the week. We popped the rest of them in the oven for breakfast on Father's Day when the girls came home and they got rave reviews from everyone. Light and fluffy and delicious, but not too sweet. Everything a scone should be!

Strawberry Scones
As seen on Annie's Eats

Ingredients:
1 large egg
¼ cup plain or vanilla yogurt
½ cup milk
1 tsp. orange or lemon zest
2¼ cups all-purpose flour
¼ cup sugar, plus more for sprinkling
1 tbsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
8 tbsp. cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 heaping cup diced fresh strawberries

Directions:
-In a small bowl, whisk together the egg, yogurt, milk and citrus zest until blended; set aside.  In the bowl of a food processor combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.  Pulse briefly to blend.  Add the butter pieces to the bowl with the dry ingredients and pulse several times to cut the butter into the flour, until the largest butter pieces are the size of small peas.  (Logan was sleeping so I just used a pastry cutter and it worked out just fine.)  Transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl.

-Add the strawberries to the flour mixture and toss to coat.  Add the wet ingredients to the bowl with the dry ingredients and gently fold together with a fork or spatula until a sticky dough has formed.  Knead just a few times to ensure that all the dry ingredients are incorporated and the dough is cohesive.  (Only if absolutely necessary, add more milk 1 tablespoon at a time to hydrate the remaining dry ingredients.  I DID NOT have to do this.)

-Transfer the dough to a well floured work surface and pat into a disc about 7-8 inches in diameter.  I needed to sprinkle flour on my hands to work the dough.   Sprinkle lightly with additional sugar.  Slice the disc into 8 wedges.

-To bake the scones, preheat the oven to 425˚ F.  Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.  Place the shaped scones on the prepared baking sheet and bake until lightly browned on top, about 15 minutes.  Let cool a few minutes before serving.

-To freeze, transfer the baking sheet with the shaped scones to the freezer and let them chill until they are firm, 30-60 minutes.  Wrap the scones individually and store in a freezer-safe bag until ready to bake.  Bake as originally indicated, adding a few minutes to the baking time (usually about 18-20 minutes for me.)

Chocolate Chip Scones

Just a tip: Do not substitute whole milk for heavy whipping cream. No matter what you read. Because your dough will be a complete runny mess, you will have to add a ton more flour, and your scones will be a little too tough.

Just sayin'.

(which means I created a huge mess, that I attempted to fix and then basically threw on the cookie sheet to bake and prayed. They tasted not too bad for being a complete runny mess, although they were definitely NOT flaky like a scone should be. I will for sure make them again...just correctly next time)

Chocolate Chip Scones

Courtesy of Hershey's

Ingredients:

3 1/4 C all-purpose flour

1/2 C granulate sugar

1 tbsp plus 1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

2 C chocolate chips

1/2 C chopped nuts (optional)

2 C chilled whipping cream

2 tbsp butter, melted

Additional granulated sugar

Powdered sugar (optional)

Directions:

-Heat oven to 375°F. Lightly grease 2 baking sheets.

-Stir together flour, 1/2 cup granulated sugar, baking powder and salt in large bowl. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts, if desired.

-Stir whipping cream into flour mixture, stirring just until ingredients are moistened.

-Turn mixture out onto lightly floured surface. Knead gently until soft dough forms (about 2 minutes). Divide dough into three equal balls. One ball at a time, flatten into 7-inch circle; cut into 8 triangles. Transfer triangles to prepared baking sheets, spacing 2 inches apart. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with additional granulated sugar.

-Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until lightly browned. Serve warm, sprinkled with powdered sugar, if desired. 24 scones.

Cranberry Orange Scones

One of my favorite combinations is cranberry and orange. I always order the cranberry-orange scone from Starbucks and when I stumbled across this recipe, I had to give it a whirl. And you know what? They are perfect. Tart and slightly sweet at the same time, and delightfully flaky.

Cranberry Orange Scones

(adapted from Gourmet via Smitten Kitchen via The Way the Cookie Crumbles)

Makes 8 scones (but mine were HUGE so they can be made smaller)

1½ tablespoons freshly grated orange zest

2½ cups (12 ounces) all-purpose flour

½ cup (3.5 ounces) sugar plus 3 tablespoons

1 tablespoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

¾ stick (6 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, cut into bits

1½ cups fresh cranberries, chopped coarse

1 large egg

1 large egg yolk

1 cup heavy cream

Directions

1. Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 400°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.

2. In a small bowl, toss together fresh cranberries and 3 tablespoons sugar. In another small bowl, lightly beat the egg and yolk, then stir in cream.

3. In a food processor, pulse the flour, ½ cup sugar, baking powder, salt, and zest until combined. Add the butter and process until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Transfer to a large bowl. (You can also just smoosh the butter into the dry ingredients with your fingers instead of using a food processor.) Stir the cranberries into the flour mixture. Then gently fold the egg mixture into the flour until just combined.

4. On a well-floured surface with floured hands, pat the dough into a 1-inch-thick round (about 8 inches in diameter). With a 2-inch round cutter or the rim of a glass dipped in flour, cut out as many rounds as possible, rerolling the scraps as necessary. (Or cut the circle into wedges, which is my standard method.) Arrange the scones about 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheet and bake 15 to 20 minutes, or until pale golden. Cool about 10 minutes, then serve.