Fiber Fool

A couple weeks ago a woman I knit with on Mondays and Wednesdays brought some fantastic orange-apricot scones to a Wednesday gathering. DH makes a good scone, but these were different and I loved them. I immediately asked Sue for her recipe and she recited it to a table full of women frantically taking notes. The Sunday prior she had made many batches to take to her church so she had the recipe down cold.

I had to give the recipe a try while all the tricks Sue had shared were fresh in my mind so that Friday I made a batch of cranberry-lime scones because that was what we had on hand. We had one for fika that day then took all but two of the remainder of the batch to the annual pirate party that evening. They were devoured and I got many comments. And that was eating them at room temperature! The next morning DH and I ate the two we left at home, reheating them in the toaster oven at 300 degrees while we brewed a pot of tea. They tasted just as good as they had fresh from the oven.

What I love about these scones is that they are not the hard and dry hockey pucks labeled as scones that you can find much too easily. These are light and moist (even when they are a few days old) and the have a fantastic crumb. They also aren’t overly sweet and citrus zest really adds a refreshing note to the scones. I have been dreaming scones ever since. More flavor combinations pop into my head daily. Aside from alternate citrus zest and dried fruit combinations I’d like to try some savory versions as well.

So, this weekend I had to make another batch. I had no choice, LOL! This time I went for an autumn flavor, adding some pie spices to orange zest and using half dried apple and half dried raisins for the fruit. I’m sure in one bite you’ll be dreaming of scones as well so I asked Sue if I could share her recipe and she kindly agreed.

Sue’s Buttermilk Scones for 5000 ft

(Based on an original recipe in Baking With Julia)
(further adjustments by me)

Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup superfine (Baker’s) sugar (i have only used regular granulated sugar)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder (sea level, use 2 ½ t.)
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ¾ teaspoon salt (do not reduce salt measurement)
• 1 ½ sticks (6 oz.) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces and very cold
• 1 cup (approximately) buttermilk
• 1 Tablespoon grated lemon, lime or orange zest (I use 2 lemons or 3 limes for a good, heaping T.)
• ½ cup dried fruit (which you soak as stated above)
• ½ stick (2 oz.) melted unsalted butter, for brushing (I have a silcone brush and use only 1 T)
• regular granulated sugar (NOT Baker’s sugar here)

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Place dried fruit in a bowl and cover with hot water to plump. Cut 6 oz of butter into small pieces and place in freezer. Meanwhile combine dry ingredients and zest in a large mixing bowl (or food processor). Cut in chilled butter with a pastry blender or if using a food processor add butter in three batches, pulsing 5 times before adding the next batch of butter. You want a variety of sizes to create the good texture in the scones. There should be lumps no larger than a pea or finer than a grain of sand. If you cut in the butter by hand with pastry blender you may wish to cover and place in the fridge for a few more minutes to maintain the chill of the butter.

Drain fruit and lay out on paper towels to further drain. Slowly add buttermilk to the dry ingredients until dough is damp. It won’t be holding together at this stage yet. Turn out onto a floured surface. Using a bench scraper start folding the dough until it starts to come together. It will seem messy and as though it won’t ever form a dough. Have confidence and patience. It will come together. If the fruit is still damp, dust with a bit of flour and sift so minimal flour is on the fruit. Fold fruit into dough and knead for 1 more minute.

Split the dough into 4 equal pieces. Form each piece into rounds and flatten to about 3/4 inch thick. Using bench scraper cut into four wedges for 16 scones. Place on silpat or parchment lined pan. Using a pastry brush, apply melted butter to the tops of the scones. Start at the wide end of the scone and move toward the tip to keep butter from running down the cut edges as that will seal the scones and keep them from rising. Then sprinkle with regular granulated sugar. Bake at 400 degrees for 12-20 minutes depending upon your oven.

Often scones are served with double devon cream, butter, jam etc. I find with the zest and fruit no additional toppings are necessary.

Variations

For the autumn scones, I used orange zest, 1/4 C dried apple cut into small pieces, 1/4 C raisins and added 1/2 T cinnamon, 1/2 t each of allspice, nutmeg and ginger and then sprinkled with cinnamon sugar rather than plain sugar. Next time I think I’d up the spices just a tad and perhaps not be lazy and get out the mortar and pestle to add cloves and cardamom. For the cranberry lime I used lime zest and dried cranberries.