Buttermilk Scones

I have a love/hate relationship with scones. Most of the scones I tried were tough and tasteless, essentially food hockey puts. Needless to say, I didn’t like them.

But I really, really wanted to love them. The romantic notion of afternoon teas with scones and devonshire cream kept me searching for that elusive tender scone I dreamt about. On a trip to Washington DC with a friend, I found them at our hotel coffee shop—a tender, moist blueberry scone. I ate one every morning.

But the dream ended when I couldn’t find another shop or bakery with a decent imitation. I held tight to my memories of those lovely scones and moved on. One day I went to one of my favorite blogs, Circle-B Kitchen, and found myself staring at the most beautiful scone ever.

They looked so luscious and I immediately bookmarked the page. I frequently revisited the page to admire them but was hesitant to whip up a batch, worried they wouldn’t live up to their gorgeous picture. Finally I tried them and instantly berated myself for not making them sooner.

They are amazing. Light as a feather with a rich distinctive buttermilk flavor. They are great on their own and over the top with a scoop of strawberry rhubarb jam.

Recipe from Circle B Kitchen

Ingredients:

3 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup unsalted butter, very cold and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 cup buttermilk (or more if needed)
1/4 cup each buttermilk and raw sugar for finishing

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Put dry ingredients in food processor, pulse to mix or in a medium bowl and whisk together.
Add butter, pulse until butter is in pieces about the size of a hazelnut or cut in butter until the size of a hazelnut.
Dump into a mixing bowl. Pour in buttermilk and mix with a fork until a shaggy mass forms. Add a little more buttermilk if need to bring the dough together. Cut in half.
Form each half into a disk about 1 1/2 inches high, and cut into 8ths.
Place on a parchment lined sheet pan and freeze for 20 minutes.
Remove from freezer, brush tops with a little buttermilk and sprinkle liberally with the raw sugar.
Bake for about 12 minutes. Cool slightly on wire racks and serve warm.

Special Notes:

I admit that I forgot to put these in the freezer and they still turned out awesome! They taste best warm from the oven.

Enjoy!

Tanya