basic scones.

a variation on the basic scone recipe.


As far as I'm concerned, there are few baked goods that combine the overall simplicity and ease of assembly, with the broadness of variation and potential like the scone does. The most basic form of these tasty treats involves only 7 ingredients (all of which the culinarily minded ought to have in their pantry, even the college student types, and three of which in portions no greater than a teaspoon), and about 5 steps, but the things you can add once you understand the underlying structure of the basic recipe are damn near endless.

basic scone recipe.
(borrowed liberally from The Cookie Recipe Club)


2 cups of flour
5 tablespoons of unsalted butter
1/3 cup of milk
2 tablespoons of sugar
1 tablespoon of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/4 cup of vegetable shortening


preheat oven to 375 degrees


standard baking temp; hotter will cook faster, but less thoroughly, and lower will cook more thoroughly, but slower. (yes, yes, this is a duh, I know. but it needed to be said.)


sift the dry ingredients together twice


or, for those of us without the leisure of a sifter, you can also use a mesh strainer, or even simply thoroughly whisk the dry ingredients together. The goal is to get the sugar, salt and baking powder evenly distributed in the flour before the wet ingredients are added.


cut in the butter and shortening


I'd like to think this step is rather self-explanatory, but you never know. the goal is to break up the butter, but into pieces no smaller than the tip of one's pinky. the butter will become more combined in later steps, and breaking it up any smaller will alter the texture of your scones


mix in milk


I'd suggest adding the milk slowly, it will go smoother, and if you are eye-balling, it gives you better control of the consistency of the dough. you're aiming for moist, but not sticky, and a dough that will hold together when you turn it out onto your board.


turn out on floured board, and press into a round, about 8-12 inches in diameter


if you've little in the way of counter space, you could theoretically do all of the mixing on a cutting board, but this can get messy, and difficult when adding in the milk (and, in some variations, an egg). otherwise, when short on space, a cutting board can be used anywhere, even perched on the stove or over the sink. as far as kneading and rolling goes, scones don't require much in the way of kneading (unless the dough's a bit moist, in which case, you ought to knead in more flour), and can be pressed out by hand. The diameter is not as important as the thickness of the round, which should be no more than three quarters of an inch, and no less than a quarter of an inch (the scones rise in the oven).


cut round into 6-8 wedges, and place on a buttered baking sheet


make sure to butter the baking sheet. I can't emphasize this enough; a lot of time, new bakers will assume that an unbuttered or 'pam'ed baking sheet will work, but really it doesn't. regarding the placement of the scones on the baking sheet, scones don't expand out as much as up, so feel free to let them get more up close and personal than usual.
*ahem*
I shall take this moment to state: YOUR FOOD IS ONLY AS GOOD AS THE INGREDIENTS YOU PUT IN IT. this is true of everything, from the butter on the baking sheet, to the sugar you sprinkle on top: the less processed, and the less artificial your ingredients are, the better. so there. now I descend from my soap-box.


toss the scones into the oven for fifteen to twenty minutes, or until cooked through and the appropriate color


you can, as with most baked goods, tell when they're cooked through with the toothpick test (or, as I usually end up doing, as I don't really have toothpicks, the chopstick test), wherein one inserts the wooden stick-like object of one's choice into the thickest part of the baked good. if it comes out clean, it's done. if it's got dough or batter sticking to it, it's not. toothpicks are favored because of the small size of the resulting hole, but for my usual audience, the look of the thing is hardly the main focus.


so, that's the basics, annotated by yours truly.

happy stomaches and fertile minds,

Ariel