The Best Scones, maybe ever
One day my client asked me if I could make some scones for him to enjoy in the morning with his espresso and now he eats one nearly everyday. He could have literally anything he wants but he choses these. They are that good.
I had only ever made scones once before and I didn’t really even know what a scone was supposed to be like. Never once have I been tempted by a scone at a coffee shop. I’m still not exactly sure what constitutes a scone. Is it a purposely dry formless muffin? A biscuit that kind of wants to be a cookie? No one really knows. Like most things, I decided to just wing it and see how it turns out. Whenever I am unsure how to make something I Iook to see if Sally’s Baking Addiction has made it and I adapt from there. This recipe is adapted from Sally’s Baking Addiction Master Scone recipe. The formula is basically the same but I have tweaked the method to my preference. I’m still not exactly sure what a scone is because everyone that has tried these have said they are like scones, only better. I hope you enjoy this scone recipe as much as my client does.
These are the best scones that have ever existed, all of my clients and everyone that has ever tried them says so.
Notes before you begin:
Get a cooking scale. Please, just stop messing around and measure your ingredients accurately. Also, less dishes.
I love this recipe because it is only one bowl one measuring cup, you don’t need more than that, don’t make it harder on yourself.
You can mix up the the fillings and flavors if you like, I just think this is the best one.
Ingredients
250 g flour
100 g sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 stick coldest possible butter
about a thumb sized chunk of store-bought almond paste or 3 tablespoons
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract
dried sweetened cherries, unsweetened are fine but just okay in this.
Demerara or any similar course grained sugar
Equipment Needed
medium-large bowl, metal or glass
egg beater/whisk
thin silicon whisk
measuring spoons
1 or 2 cup liquid messing cup
pastry blender
knife and cutting board
Instructions:
Measure out dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder and salt) in a medium-large bowl over a scale and mix together well with a whisk, set aside.
Cube the stick of butter into small 1/2-1 cm chips and add to the bowl in mixing with the flour ensuring that the cubes don’t stick together, do half first and then the rest, and quickly so it stays cold.
With a pastry blender quickly cut the butter into the flour until you have pea sized or smaller chunks of butter. Set aside or in fridge.
3. Pinch off pieces of the almond paste into the bowl and stir as you go to coat the pieces of almond paste in flour so they don’t stick together.
4. Measure out 1/2 cup of buttermilk in a liquid measuring cup like a pyrex and then in the pyrex also add the almond extract and one egg. Beat until well combined and add to the bowl. This is the hardest part and it takes a fair amount of practice to do it right. Don’t worry, it will taste good either way. Use a thin silicon whisk to mix together the buttermilk/egg mixture into the bowl with the flour. You have to do a kind of flop and fold, not a stir and you have to do it lightly but also quickly because you don’t want the butter to soften. You don’t want there to be any dry flour left but you also don’t want to over-mix it. Halfway through mix in the cherries
5. dump onto a lightly floured counter and gather together to form into a 2-3 in thick disk.
6. Cut the disc in half and then each half Ito quarters and then each quarter in to 8 triangles and arrange on a sheet tray lined with parchment paper.
7. Coat each scone in beaten egg and then dust the entire outside with coarse grained sugar.
8. Immediately bake at 400 for 18-20 minutes. Let cool slightly and enjoy.
