Perfectly Buttery Cream Scones 5 Ways Recipes

BEST EVER CLASSIC SCONES

Steps:

• Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and prepare a baking sheet or two (depending on how large your baking sheets are) by lining them with parchment paper. Set aside.
• In a large bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Mix well with a fork or a whisk.
• In a liquid measuring cup, measure the cream and add the eggs. Whisk together using a fork and set aside.
• The next few steps should be done quickly, as you're working with cold butter and you want the butter to be as cold as possible when it hits the heat of the oven. This will result in a flaky scone, rather than a heavy and dense one.
• Cut up your butter, right from the fridge, into little pieces and dump it into the flour mixture. Using your hands (wash them well first and remove any rings), pick up handfuls of the butter and flour mixture, rubbing the pieces of butter and the flour between the heels of your hands to create "sheets" of butter. You should act quickly here, and don't allow the pieces of butter to sit in your hands for any length of time as the heat from your hands will cause it to soften. The goal is to create paper-thin pieces of butter, small and large throughout the mixture. Once there are no thick chunks of butter remaining, only thin sheets, remove your hands from the mixture. Hands equal heat, so handle the mixture as little as possible.
• Pour in the wet ingredients and mix roughly with a fork. Do not over mix, or the result will be heavy and dense.
• Once the wet ingredients have been incorporated but there are still several streaks of flour, turn the dough out onto a clean and floured counter surface. Press the dough down into the counter and then fold one half over the other half like you are folding a piece of paper. Press down again and make another fold. Repeat this 2 or 3 more times, gathering any outlying dough bits and flour into your folds. Don't knead the dough like you would if you were making bread, and don't stir or mix the dough like you would if you were making muffins. Scones are technically a pastry, so the goal is flaky layers that are created by the thin sheets of butter and all the folding.
• Once your dough is formed after folding several times, shape it into a rectangle about 1 3/4 to 2 inches thick (approximately). Again, be careful not to handle the dough too much, so a few little cracks here and there are fine.
• Cut out circles of dough using a biscuit cutter or the rim of a class or jar. Arrange the circles of dough on the parchment-lined baking sheet and brush the tops with the egg wash (whisk together the egg and water).
• You'll need to re-shape the leftover dough to form another rectangle - do this carefully and gently, without adding much extra flour if possible. The less you handle the dough, the more tender and flaky the scones will be. Cut out the remainder of the scones until you have about 10-12 in total.
• Bake for about 15-18 minutes just until barely golden brown and the surface of the scones lose their shine. Let them cool for 3-5 minutes on the baking sheet. Transfer them to a cooling rack to cool completely.

THE BEST CLASSIC CREAM SCONES

Steps:

• Place the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar in a bowl.
• Add the butter. You can cut the butter into the flour using a pastry cutter, OR use your fingers to rub the butter into the flour. You should have pea sized butter pieces in the flour, while it looks coarse overall.
• Mix the vanilla into the cream, and pour it gradually into the flour and butter mix. Use a fork to mix the cream into the flour until it's all incorporated and you have a shaggy looking lumpy dough.
• Turn the dough out onto a lightly dusted parchment paper (the same parchment paper that will be used to bake the scones). Lightly dust the surface of the scones, and bring the dough together to form a cohesive dough. Pat the dough out to a 6 - 8 inch circle or square.
• Cut the dough in half, and place one half on top of the other. Place a parchment paper on top, and roll out the scone dough to another 6 - 8 inch circle or square (you can use your hands to pat the dough too). Repeat the process of cutting and layering the dough (once or twice more).
• Final roll out - here you roll out the scone dough to a rough square while making sure that the dough is about ½ - ¾ of an inch high. Roughly cut and remove just the edges of the dough with a clean knife.
• Cut the dough into 16 pieces (4 x 4), making sure to clean the knife after each cut. Cut the scones STRAIGHT DOWN with a sharp knife, to make sure your scones have clean edges and will rise properly. If you are using a biscuit cutter, lightly dust the cutter, and cut the dough straight down for clean cuts.
• Place the cut scones in the freezer for about 10 - 15 minutes until the oven preheats.
• Preheat oven to 425°F.
• Place the scones (with the parchment paper) on a baking tray. Separate the scones, as mentioned below, before baking (you may need to use a spatula to help release the scones off the parchment paper from the bottom).
• For soft sides - scones should be touching each other before going into the oven. For soft and crunchy sides - scones should be placed about 1 - 1 ½ cm apart. For crunchy sides - place the scones about 2 inches apart.
• Brush ONLY the tops of the scones with milk or cream. Sprinkle some coarse sugar on top of the scones (optional).
• Place the scones in the oven, and reduce the temperature to 400°F. Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes, until the scones turn a beautiful golden brown.
• Remove from the oven and let them cool down a little.
• Eat while warm, or if cold, warm them up in the microwave for about 20 - 30 seconds. Serve with butter, jam and cream.

PERFECTLY BUTTERY CREAM SCONES, 5 WAYS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425°F. Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Cut butter into flour mixture with two forks or a pastry blender until crumbly and mixture resembles small peas. Freeze until butter is hard, 14 to 16 minutes. Add cream stirring with a fork just until dry ingredients are moistened. Gently knead into a ball in the bowl.
• Turn dough out onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Pat dough into an 8-inch circle (about ¾- to 1-inch thick). Cut into 8 wedges; separate wedges about ½ inch. Brush with egg.
• Bake, rotating baking sheet once, until golden brown and center is firm, 22 to 25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack; cool 10 minutes. Drizzle with Buttermilk Glaze.
• Make Buttermilk Glaze: Whisk together confectioners' sugar, buttermilk, and vanilla extract in a bowl until smooth.
• Omit Buttermilk Glaze. Whisk tangerine zest, 1/3 cup tangerine marmalade, and finely chopped fresh rosemary into cream. Microwave 1/4 cup tangerine marmalade and 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary until just melted. Brush over warm scones. Garnish with small rosemary sprig.
• Reduce sugar to 2 tablespoons and omit Buttermilk Glaze. Toss scallions, crumbled feta, and cracked black pepper into flour mixture before adding cream.
• Toss blueberries, lemon zest, and finely crushed lavender blossoms into flour mixture. Sprinkle glazed scones with a few lavender blossoms.
• Reduce sugar to 2 tablespoons. Toss country ham, shredded extra sharp Cheddar, jalapeño into flour mixture. Top dough wedges with jalapeño slices before baking.