Sunday, August 7, 2011

Scones Two Ways


I've done Strawberry and Pepper Scones that were so good I forgot my own name.
However, today I decided to do scones two ways.
The picture above shows Blueberry and Lemon Scones with a Lemon Glaze.
The picture below is a Bacon and Cheese Please Scone.
Both equally delicious, just in different ways.


Let's start with the Bacon and Cheese Please Scones.
Start with about 8 strips of bacon.
I bake mine in the oven at 400 degrees. I find I get a more evenly cooked bacon strip when I cook them in the oven. I don't want them to be cooked too long, just enough to make them crispy but not over done. You don't want to cook them too long because you will be cooking the bacon again in the oven once your scone dough is complete. 15 to 20 minutes in the oven should be fine.


While your bacon is cooking, let's begin the scone dough.
Start with 2 cups of all purpose flour.


1/3 cup of sugar.


1 Teaspoon of baking powder.


1/4 teaspoon of baking soda.


1/2 a teaspoon of salt.


Combine all the dry ingredients together.


Cut up 8 tablespoons of unsalted sugar.
Tip:
I freeze my unsalted butter just for recipes like this.
The colder your butter the better the flakes in your biscuit or scone.


Put your flour in a blender along with your butter and pulse until you end up with what resembles a course meal.


It's okay to have little chunks of butter. The more of those the better :)


Cut up your bacon.


Add the cut bacon to your flour mixture.


Add about 1 cup (or more) of the cheese of your choice and combine all your ingredients together.


Now for the wet ingredients:
1/2 a cup of sour cream.


1 large egg.


Mix together thoroughly and add it to your dry ingredients. (You will see what I'm talking about during the Blueberry portion of the post).


Form a circle with the dough and cut 8 triangles. Coat the tops lightly with a beaten egg or milk, or egg and milk. Whatever floats your boat.

Bake in the oven at 400 for 15 to 20 minutes. You are looking for a golden crust.


You can eat these at room temperature, but they are better warm with lots and lots of butter. You could even add some maple syrup if you are daring enough.
Yum.


Now for the Blueberry and Lemon Scones with Lemon Glaze.


Follow the recipe from above, but add the zest of one lemon to the flour mixture.



Mix in about a cup (or more if you like a lot of blueberries) to your flour and butter mixture.


Pour in half of your wet ingredients, mix together, then pour in the rest to evenly distribute.


It's going to be a loose and slightly tacky batter.
That's okay.
I promise.
If you are OCD, you probably do not want to follow this recipe.
Just saying.


Pour out your dough onto a flat surface.


Form your circle.


Cut into triangles. Or you could use a circular cut out or cup and make them round. It all tastes the same, so be creative.


Coat with milk to help develop a golden, shiny crust.



For the glaze, take 1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar, the zest of one lemon, and the juice from the same lemon, and whisk together until smooth. You may or may not have to add more sugar to make a thick glaze. Then you just drizzle over the top of the scones.
The lemon is a nice compliment to the blueberry, tart and sweet, but very much worth the extra touch.


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