Simple Scones

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup dried currants or raisins
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon milk

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
2. Sift the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt into a large bowl. Cut in butter using a pastry blender or rubbing between your fingers until it is in pea sized lumps. Stir in the currants. Mix together 1/2 cup milk and sour cream in a measuring cup. Pour all at once into the dry ingredients, and stir gently until well blended. Overworking the dough results in terrible scones!
3. With floured hands, pat scone dough into balls 2 to 3 inches across, depending on what size you want. Place onto a greased baking sheet, and flatten lightly. Let the scones barely touch each other. Whisk together the egg and 1 tablespoon of milk. Brush the tops of the scones with the egg wash. Let them rest for about 10 minutes.
4. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven, until the tops are golden brown, not deep brown. Break each scone apart, or slice in half. Serve with butter or clotted cream and a selection of jams - or even plain.

Footnotes

• Tip
• Scones can be reheated if not eaten promptly by wrapping in aluminum foil and heating in oven until heated through or split in half and toasted.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Scones

I made these for breakfast tomorrow, but I am not sure they are going to make it through the night.

A food processor is the best way to bring all the ingredients together in this recipe because the peanut butter is a bit hard to handle by hand. I basically chopped the butter and peanut butter into the flour with a spatula. Try not to use your fingers.

These scones are light, with a definite melt-in-your-mouth quality from all the butter and peanut butter in them. They're delicious!

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup sugar
10 tbsp butter, cold and cut into 10 pieces
4 tbsp peanut butter
1 1/8 cup milk (1 c + 2 tbsp)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 400F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In the bowl of a food processor, combine flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Pulse to combine. Add butter and peanut butter and pulse a few times, until mixture resembles very large, coarse crumbs. Add mini chocolate chips.

Combine milk and vanilla extract. With the motor of the food processor running, pour in milk. Stop when the dough starts to come together into a ball. Try not to fun the food processor any more than necessary.

Divide dough into three or four pieces and pat each piece into a circle on a lightly floured surface. Cut each circle of dough into 4 pieces, to make 16 triangular scones. Place on prepared baking sheet.

Bake for 16-20 minutes at 400F, until light golden brown.

Cool on a wire rack. Store in an airtight container if not eating right away.
The scones are best within two days of baking made.
Makes 16 scones.