The Perfect Scone Recipe

Could this be it?

First! A very warm and vanilla-scented welcome to all my new readers. I’m so glad to have you here. And to all my readers new and old, give a read and click the “like” heart to make all the algorithims in the world turn into chocolate chip cookies.

As I write this, about 6 feet away from me there is an odd scuttling sound coming from the wall. One of the cats is investigating. The dog is snoozing about 8 inches from the noise, remains oblivious to all external input.

And I’ve just now put on a pair of shoes because the idea of a rodent running over my bare feet is shaking up my otherwise tough self.

My father’s voice is in my head telling me not to be goose-y. I guess to him it was geese that ran around as if they were chickens with their heads cut off. Um. Anyway, my father was a research psychologist and in his early career did experiments with rats and mice. He encouraged me to be fearless of them. He also raised me to not be easily flustered or shocked by anything, be it blood, fire, human weirdness or chaos. I guess he’d seen enough real horror in his life that there wasn’t much left that could get to him—except an empty cookie jar. That was a crisis that needed to be dealt with immediately. So, instead of turning my ability to remain sanguine into, say, a first-class emergency room doctor, here I find myself in a career that encourages people to cook and eat without fear.

And today’s recipe is a keeper for just that reason. Also, it’s just happens to be the easiest, most versatile, tender scone recipe I’ve come across. They are My British Husband(tm) approved and best yet, you can have them ready to bake before the oven reaches temperature.

The recipe is courtesy of Jamie Mariotti, whose husband Renato was my guest on The Secret Life of Cookies podcast this week. Renato Mariotti, is, as I’m sure you know is a legal analyst, former federal prosecutor, co-host of the It’s Complicated podcast with Asha Rangappa, and a man with the gift to explain complicated legal news so even I can understand it.

Notes on the Making of Scones:

• Most scones contain butter and eggs. This recipe is special because it only uses heavy cream for fat and moisture. The result is an oh-so tender scone.

• Heavy cream and whipping cream are interchangable. And yes, that is confusing.

• You don’t have to use a mixture of both white and wheat flour, but I like the flavor.

• This recipe is yours to play with. Jamie/Penzey’s version calls for dried apricots, orange zest and white chocolate chips. You can make it yours. Go wild. Use the basic recipe and change up the add-ins. Instead of blueberries and white chocolate, consider raspberries and dark chocolate chunks. Or, leave out the sugar and turn these into a savory masterwork with shredded cheddar and crumbled cooked bacon. Ponder other flavorings, like lime or yuzu zest, almond or maple extracts or lashings of fresh ground pepper in a savory scone. Let me know what you come up with.

• Yes, I usually make fun of white chocolate, but in the case of these scones, they add a creamy, caramel distraction.

Blueberry Lemon White Chocolate Scones

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Blueberry Lemon White Chocolate Scones

Yield: 16 scones

Recipe adapted from Jamie Mariotti, who got it from Penzeys.com, who got it from a nice lady named Julie Anderson.

What You’ll Need:

1 cup (120 grams) all-purpose flour

1 1/4 cup (160 grams) whole wheat flour

3 tablespoons sugar (optional)

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon kosher salt (if using table salt, use only 1/2 teaspoon)

Zest from 2 lemons

1 1/2 cup (249 grams) blueberries

1/2 cup (80 grams) white chocolate chips

1 1/2 cups heavy (or whipping) cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the optional glaze:

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 cup (128 grams) confectioner’s sugar

What You’ll Do:

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Grease a baking sheet or line it with parchment paper.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together both flours, sugar, baking powder, salt and lemon zest. Mix in the blueberries and white chocolate chips, then gently, gently stir in all the heavy cream and the vanilla until most of the dry ingredients are moistened. When only a little bit of flour is showing, it’s time to use the best kitchen tool there is: your hands. Tenderly bring the mixture together to form a ball shape and turn the dough out onto well-floured pastry board or counter. Cut the dough into two pieces and shape each into a 8 x 1 1/2” disk. Cut each disk into 8 pieces. All the scones will fit on a large baking sheet, but leave about 2 inches between.

3. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until light golden. Eat warm without glaze, or let cool and then glaze them.

4. To make the optional glaze: Mix together the juice and confectioner’s sugar. Pour the glaze over the scones.

5. Make a large pot of Yorkshire Gold tea and settle in with a good book. I suppose you could also share them with nice people.

NOISE-IN-WALL UPDATE: I forgot to mention there is a small hole in the wall where the wires from the wall mounted TV go down to the basement. In the time it took me to write this substack, a teeny, quivering chipmunk nose has peered out of said hole. And no one seems to care but me. Will this little beast become pet #4?

Speaking of beasts, here is a rare photo of me (I think you would much prefer pictures of cakes and my adorable pets), hanging out with Reniero, my daugh’s horse. We have a steamy relationship. (Sorry, sorry, sorry. It was too easy. I know.)

What’s been the weirdest thing you’ve found in your walls? The oddest combination you are considering in your scones? Let me know in the comments.

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