Author: Susan Murray, www.awomancooksinasheville.com
Ingredients
½cbutterfrozen
2cflour
½csugar
2 ½tspbaking powder
½tspsalt
1tspmixed spicesee note
½cupbuttermilksee note
1egg
1tspvanilla
1 ½cdried fruitchopped
Demerara sugarsee note
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees
Grate the butter with the large hole side of a box grater and place it in the freezer while you gather the rest of your ingredients.
In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and spices).
Add the frozen butter to the dry ingredients and using a pastry cutter, cut in the butter until it is the size of small peas or pebbles. Return this to the refrigerator.
Chop an assortment of dried fruits and nuts, according to your taste, into small dice ( ¼ – ½”). Set aside.
Whisk together ½ cup buttermilk, one egg and the vanilla.
Pour this over the butter and flour mixture and mix it until it starts to come together.
If you are making drop scones continue to mix in the bowl until it forms a dough. Then drop 3 inches apart on a lined baking tray.
For biscuit style scones or traditional scones, turn the batter out onto a lightly floured board and continue to mix by hand until it is a soft dough. Do not over-knead.
Roll the dough out lightly and cut biscuits or form an 8” circle of the dough and cut into eights on a lined baking sheet.
Brush the tops of the scones with a little cream or baking powder and sprinkle with demerara sugar.
Bake 20-24 minutes until lightly browned and a test stick comes out dry.
Recipe Notes
Notes:
Mixed Spice can be replaced with Pumpkin Pie or Apple Pie Spice or ½ tsp cinnamon.
Heavy cream can be used in place of buttermilk.
Regular sugar can be used in place of Demerara Sugar.