If you’ve checked out my blog before you know I always encourage you to make your own scones. They may seem intimidating but the ingredients are basic and the steps are straightforward and before you know it you are enjoying a delicious, warm from the oven scone. Before you spend your hard earned cash on a coffee shop scone, which can in no way compare to a homemade version, give these a try. Truly, even leftovers are amazing.
Remember your butter needs to be cold, cold, cold but your eggs and cream should be at room temperature and make sure your baking powder is fresh! If it’s been opened in your cupboard for over 6 months do yourself a favour and purchase a new small container of it. No large Costco size unless you are baking continuously as baking soda and baking powder do go flat and lose their effectiveness.
(Before we get started don’t forget to follow me on Instagram @ sweet_enuf)
Cranberry Pumpkin Scones – sweetenuf.ca
Cranberry Pumpkin Scones
(from BH&G 100 Best Pumpkin Recipes)
Preheat oven to 400F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter, cold
1/2 cup dried cranberries
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup cream or milk
Method:
In a large bowl stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda and salt. Use a pastry blender to cut butter into flour until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. I prefer to grate the cold butter into the flour mixture using a box grater and then gently tossing it with the flour mixture.
Add dried cranberries and toss to combine. Make a well in the centre of your dried mixture.
In a small bowl combine the eggs, pumpkin and cream. Pour into dry ingredients and stir until just moistened.
Turn the dough out onto a well floured surface and knead the dough together approximately 10-12 strokes until it comes together.
Place on parchment lined baking sheet and pat into an 8-inch circle. Using a bench scraper or knife, dipped in flour, cut into 8 wedges and pull apart until there is about 2 inches between the scones.
Pre-bake Cranberry Pumpkin Scones brushed with a Little Cream and a sprinkle of Sugar
Brush scones with a little cream or an egg wash (1 egg plus 1 tablespoon water) and bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.
Blueberry Cream Scone, just the name alone evokes a vision of flaky sweetness encouraging you to sit back and enjoy with a hot coffee or tea, especially on a day with a severe weather warning in effect (at least up here in Cookingwood).
Seriously, stop wasting you money on the conventional store-bought scone, as there is no comparison to these slightly sweet, flaky, luscious scones bursting with bites of wild blueberries. A sprinkling of coarse or raw sugar before baking adds just another layer of flavour.
Blueberry Cream Scones/www.sweetenuf.ca
Easy one-bowl baking for any day of the week with ingredients you probably have on hand will make these a favourite.
Blueberry Cream Scones
Preheat oven to 375F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Stack 2 baking sheets together to help prevent bottoms from over browning!
Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup whipping cream + 2 tbsp. whipping cream
1/3 cup cold butter
1/2 cup fresh or frozen wild blueberries
Coarse or raw sugar for sprinkling
Method:
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
Measure out 3/4 cup whipping cream and stir in vanilla extract.
Using a box grater, grate cold butter into flour mixture and toss together with your fingers. Add in cream/vanilla and stir until mixture comes together. Add in berries and knead together gently a few times to disperse the berries.
Pat out onto prepared baking sheet into a circle about 1 1/2 inches high. Using a knife or bench scraper cut into 8 pieces. Brush tops with remaining 2 tablespoons of cream and sprinkle with sugar.
Bake in preheated oven about 15-20 minutes until tops are golden .
NOTE: If using frozen berries you will need to add a few more minutes to baking time.
Cool slightly and enjoy!
Leftovers are delicious next day warmed slightly in microwave or oven. These will also freeze well if wrapped tightly.
Although I can eat a scone anytime of the year now that temperatures are dropping and there is actually a few flakes of snow on the hood of my car, they seem to be calling my name on a more frequent basis.
Lemon Blueberry Scones
If you are still purchasing your scones at the local shop stop immediately and give these Lemon Blueberry Scones a try. One bowl baking at it’s best and no ‘knead’ to be intimidated. Worried you’ll eat the whole batch yourself? Which is a definite possiblilty as a warm from the oven scone is swoon worthy. Pack your cooled scones into a ziplock bag (or maybe 2 for extra protection), freeze and thaw as desired. Once thawed, a few seconds in the microwave to warm slightly will give you the ‘hug’ you need to start your day, or finish your day, or brighten your afternoon. Heck, heat up 2 and share with someone!
If your new to baking remember for scones you need COLD butter and when zesting make sure to only use the outer peel not the white part underneath the skin of the lemon. The pith is the bitter white just under the thicker skin so go lightly! Don’t worry if you have a little more or less of the zest, whatever you have will work fine.
Lemon Blueberry Scones
Most important, make sure your baking powder is fresh, fresh, fresh. If it has been open and sitting in your cupboard for over 6 months toss and purchase the smallest container you can. Baking soda and powder lose their magic powers so don’t buy the giant Costco container if you will not be using it up in several months!!
Fresh or frozen blueberries work in this recipe and I recommend using the small wild blueberries for the best taste. If using frozen berries you may need to bake a minute or two longer but remember to check half way through the baking time to see how quickly they are baking.
For an extra touch you can mix a little lemon juice with some icing sugar and lightly drizzle your cooled scones!
Lemon Blueberry Scones
Preheat oven to 375F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Makes approx. 8
Ingredients:
1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1/2 cup cold butter
1 egg
1/4 cup whipping cream or 18% cream
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
Method:
In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and zest.
Using a grater (I use a box grater and the larger holes) grate the cold butter on top of the flour mixture. With your hands lightly toss the flour over the butter until lightly coated.
Stir in the egg and cream and then the blueberries (mixture may look messy) until you have everything combined.
Onto a lightly floured surface turn out dough. At this this point you might have to gather some bits together so don’t panic. Either pat out or roll out your dough into a large circle about 1 1/2 inches thick. Place on prepared baking sheet.
(I find when using the frozen berries my mixture is easier to pat out but with fresh berries easier to lightly roll out.)
Using a pastry cutter or knife cut dough into 8 pieces and separate slightly.
Brush with a little cream and sprinkle with some granulated or coarse sugar.
Bake 15 minutes until golden and just firm to the touch. Remove from oven and cool slighly before eating.
12 tablespoons (3/4 cup) cold butter, cut into small pieces
4 ounces white chocolate chips or chopped white chocolate
Method:
Preheat oven to 400F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place a 2nd baking sheet under lined sheet. (This helps to prevent the bottom from over baking.)
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, sugar, orange zest and salt.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the sour cream, orange juice, vanilla and egg.
Add the butter to the dry ingredients and use a pastry blender or 2 knives to cut the cold butter in. Pieces should be the size of peas OR use a box grater and grate the butter into the flour mixture and toss lightly until butter pieces are coated with the flour mixture.
Add the wet ingredients and fold in until just combined. Fold in the chocolate.
Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead (adding flour as necessary) until it comes together. Pat dough into a square and then roll it out to a 12-inch square. Now fold it together in thirds (it will resemble a letter) and then fold into thirds again, (now it will look like a nice little square pacakge) adding flour as necessary to prevent sticking. Put on alightly floured plate and freeze for about 10 minutes.
Put dough on lightly floured surface and roll out to a large circle about 1/2 thick and score into 8 portions.
If desired, brush to tops with a little cream and sprinkle with sugar.
Place on parchment lined baking sheet and bake for approximately 18-25 minutes until golden brown on top and bottom.
Best eaten day of baking but wrap well and microwave for 5-10 seconds on the second day IF there are any leftovers.
If you’ve been following my blog for a while you know I love scones and today’s scones are from Sarah Kieffer’s ‘The Vanilla Bean Baking Book‘. Perfect for breakfast, brunch, afternoon coffee or as a little pick me up anytime I think a well made scone cannot be beat (well, maybe by a perfectly made vanilla cupcake with vanilla frosting and sprinkles…)
Pumpkin scones with maple glaze are my new fav and even though this recipe requires a little more labour in the form of folding and rolling and a quick freeze of the dough for 10 minutes before rolling and folding and baking they are worth the extra effort. The next day they were still light, tender and not the tiniest bit dried out. With or without the maple glaze they are a hit.
Remember to purchase pumpkin puree NOT pumpkin pie filling and make sure the can contains 100% pumpkin not a mix of pumpkin and squash! I always have a can of pumpkin in my cupboard and any leftover can be frozen, fed to your cat or dog (it’s healthy and they love it) or used to whip up a batch of pumpkin muffins (look under muffins on my blog for a recipe!)
Pumpkin Scones
Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup unsweetened pumpkin puree
1/3 cup heavy cream, plus more for brushing on tops before baking
1 egg + 1 egg yolk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup unsalted butter, COLD and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
Method:
Preheat oven to 400F. Stack 2 cookie sheets and line top one with parchment.
(Having 2 sheets stacks help prevent the bottoms from overbaking before the scone is completely baked. Works well for cookies too!)
In a large bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk the pumpkin puree, heavy cream, egg, egg yolk and vanilla.
Add the cold butter pieces into the flour mixture and use a pastry cutter or 2 knives to cut the butter into the flour until you have nicely flour coated pea size pieces. Add the wet ingredients and mix with a spatula until just combined.
Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface, and knead a few times until it comes together, adding a little flour at a time as necessary, if dough is too sticky. Pat the dough gently into a small square and roll it into a 12-inch square. Fold the dough into thirds similar to a business letter. Fold the dough into thirds again, forming a square. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured plate or pan and FREEZE for about 10 minutes.
Return dough to lightly floured surface and roll into a 12-inch square and fold it business letter style again! Place the dough seam side down and roll into a 12 x 4-inch rectangle.
With a sharp knife or bench scrapper cut the dough into 4 equal rectangles and then each of those rectangles in half to form triangles. Place scones on prepared sheet 2-inches apart and brush the tops lightly with a bit of heavy cream.
Bake 18-25 minutes checking half way through baking time and rotating pans, until bottoms and tops are golden brown. Cool slightly and top with some maple glaze.
Maple Glaze: Combine 1/3 cup pure maple syrup, 1 cup icing sugar and 1/2 tsp vanilla, until smooth. Drizzle on warm scones. Enjoy! Wrap any leftovers well and microwave for a few seconds if desired.
I’m bringing in 2018 with light tender chocolate chip scones. These scones come together quickly, in a matter of minutes, and bake up in about 25 minutes. So turn your oven on and get to work (well its not really any work at all). I brushed the top of these with cream instead of the egg and sprinkled a little sugar on the tops before baking.
Baking tip: Use 2 baking sheets so your scones won’t brown too quickly on the bottom before the top is fully baked!
You can easily switch these up by omitting the chocolate or adding in a cup of craisins. Any way you make these scones from ‘Fine Cooking’ they are fabulous, simple to make and a sure hit! No more coffee shop scones for you once you try these lovelies!
Chocolate Chip Scones
Chocolate Scones
Preheat oven to 400F. Parchment line a baking sheet and set aside.
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
3/4 cup whipping cream
2 large egg yolks, lightly beaten
1 cup chocolate (I used dark and white chocolate chips)
For Topping Scones:
2 tablespoons whipping cream
1-2 teaspoons brown or granulate sugar
In a large bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Cut in the cold butter with a pastry blender or 2 knives until the largest pieces of butter are about the size of peas.
In a small bowl (I used the measuring cup I poured my cream into) stir the cream and egg yolks just to mix.
Add the cream/yolks to the dry mixture and stir with a fork until mixture begins to combine then use your hands to gently knead the mixture together until all the dry ingredients are absorbed into the dough and you can gather it into a moist, shaggy ball.
DON’T OVERKNEAD!!! This dough is sturdy but overmixing will toughen your finished product.
Oven ready Scones
Set the rough ball of dough in the middle of the prepared sheet and pat it gently into a round about 1-inch thick. With a sharp knife cut the dough into 8 wedges and brush it lightly with cream and sprinkle lightly with sugar.
Bake about 18-22 minutes. Let the scones cool slightly.
Wrap leftovers well and don’t forget to warm gently before enjoying again!!
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