Showing posts sorted by relevance for query Scones. Sort by date Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query Scones. Sort by date Show all posts
All scones are not equal . . . or are they? What makes a scone a scone, or a biscuit a biscuit? Are they interchangeable?
Are they the same thing? So many questions about scones and one could debate these things for hours . . .
I contend that scones and biscuits are two completely different things, both in how you put the ingredients together and in how they taste . . . I think scones are a bit lighter in texture than biscuits . . . most are sweet, but not all . . .
As evidenced by these very delicious savoury Cheese, Spring Onion & Bacon Scones I am showing you today.
Just look at how light and puffed up these beautiful scones are. They were fabulous served for breakfast this morning with hot cocoa . . .
But I think they would also be gorgeous served with eggs, or thick slices of ham . . . .
With salads or soups for lunch . . . in a portable lunch at the office. Enjoyed in leisure at home.
As a sneaky snack to partake of when nobody is looking, spread with plenty of cold butter. And maybe a bit of pickle or even jam.
In the evenings in front of the telly with a bit of chutney . . . and softened butter for spreading.
The possibilities are endless.
A scone does not have to be sweet to be enjoyed with abandon. These lovely svoury scones could not be more enjoyable, being filled as they were, to the hilt with strong cheddar cheese, smoky salty bacon bits and sharp spring onions . . .
You can't get too much better than that in my opinion.
We really could not resist scarfing down one a piece almost as soon as they came out of the oven . . . oh boy but they were some delicious!
Steaming hot and split. A large smattering of cold butter spread onto that hot surface. Yum . . . truth be old we enjoyed more than one a piece. Some days are like that.
*Cheese, Spring Onion & Bacon Scones*
makes 10 large scones
Preheat the oven to 190*C/375*F/ gas mark 5. Line a large baking tray with baking parchment. Set aside.
Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and cut the dough in half. Shape each half into a ball and flatten the balls slightly to an 8 inch round. Place each round on the baking sheet, leaving plenty of space in between. Cut each round into 5 wedges and push the wedges slightly apart. Sprinkle with the reserved cheese.
Bake for 15 minutes until well risen and golden brown.
The original recipe came from a book I picked up at a National Trust shop the last time we were visiting one of their gardens. It is entitled simply, "The National Trust Book of Scones," containing over 50 delicious scone recipes and some curious crumbs of history.
Good on their own . . . . but also quite tasty with a bit of jam. Don't judge me! This was actually quite tasty! Bon Appetit!
This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at: mariealicejoan at aol dot com Thanks so much for visiting. Do come again!
I adapted todays recipe for Christmas Oat Scones from one I found in a cookbook of my sister's that her youngest son gave to her. It is called the Irish Cooking Bible. It has some really good recipes in it.
So many that I decided to get a copy for myself. I know. But nobody can accuse me of having too many cookbooks now. The recipes all looked really great in it. These scones were the very first recipe in the book!
They were called Irish Oat Scones. They are filled with oats and raisins. The recipe said that it made 30 scones, but I can tell you, if it made that many they would be very tiny scones.
I made ten. I also decided to amp them up a bit for the holidays.
Earlier this week I had made some Quick Mincemeat following a recipe I found on David Lebovitz. It looked fairly simple and I was wanting to make some mincemeat tarts for Christmas and was worried I couldn't find suet to make my own mincemeat.
It didn't use suet. I made it but it is not really the same as regular mincemeat. This wouldn't make good tarts. I think it could really only be used as an addition to other things, like a fruit crumble.
I also felt however, that it would work well insead of the raisins asked for in these scones. I decided it would add a really festive touch to them.
I was totally right!
It worked perfectly in them. It is a tiny bit spicy and filled with dried vine fruits and candied peel and . . . umm . . . brandy. A bit naughty, but it cooks out.
David's Quick Mincemeat is not saucy like ordinary mincemeat, which is why it works well. It is basically dried fruit marinated in brandy and some spices..
DO NOT try to use regular mincemeat in this. I don't think it would work very well at all. If you are wanting festive flavours, plump up the equivalent of dried fruit in some orange juice with some cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves, and then drain it before adding it to the scone mixture.
You only need one cup of dried fruit, so I would use 3/4 cup of raisins (Golden and regular) and then measure out 1/8 cup dried currants and 1/8 cup chopped candied peel.
I think those proportions would work well. I would use 1/2 tsp cinnamon and 1/4 tsp each ground cloves and nutmeg. You could also add some grated orange zest.
These are wholesome and hearty because of the oats. I love oats in baked goods.
Do use the old fashioned oats if possible. I think quick oats would not be very suitable and you would get somewhat mixed results.
Again, the biggest challenge I had with these was photographing them. I found myself running around the house like a blue arsed fly trying to find the right spot.
I finally dug out a TV Tray from downstairs and set them up on there. I then carried the tray all over trying to find the right space.
Its not just space either. It is also finding the right time when the light is at its best. I could buy a light box, but then where would I set it up?
I don't know. Its all a matter of guess work at the moment.
Just look at the beautiful texture of the scones. Perfect.
My sister and I had a discussion on the differences between scones and biscuits. Scones are definitely denser than biscuits and not quite as light. Of course the oats in these makes them even heartier.
I love this plate of my sisters. It is one of her Yard Sale Finds. She sells this stuff on her IG page. The pattern for this is "Check" by J & G Meaken of England.
I might ask her if I can buy them. She has two of them. I really like them and they go well with things like this.
They very much have a "country" feel to them, which I am quite fond of. I love anything rustic and countri-fied.
I used to buy Country Living magazine many years ago and really loved the primitive style of furniture and decor that they shared with their readers.
That's where I first got acquainted with Susan Branch and her artwork. She used to do an illustrated recipe in the magazine each month.
I fell in love with them. The artist in me thought they were just precious. I had a huge collection of the magazine at one time, but they all got destroyed in a move.
In any case I hope you will be inspired to want to make these scones. They were really good. I served the with butter and jam. I had no cream, but cream would be fabulous as would hot cups of whatever you like to drink at teatime.
Do try the festive version, and if you don't like that, then just use raisins. They will be enjoyed either way I expect! Not fond of raisins? Why not use chopped dates or apricots? Both would work very well. Enjoy!
Christmas Oat Scones
Yield: 10
prep time: 10 Mincook time: 15 Mintotal time: 25 Min
Hearty, delicious and very festive!
Ingredients
- 2 cups (280g) all purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tp salt
- 1 cup (80g) old fashioned oats
- 1/2 cup (120g) cold butter, cut into cubes
- 1 cup (150g) raisins (I used David Leibowitz's quick mincemeat)
- 1 cup (240ml) butter milk
- buttermilk and granulated sugar to brush
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 225*C/425*F/ gas mark 6. Line a baking tray with some baking paper.
- Sift the flour, soda, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Stir in the oats. Drop in the butter and cut it in with two round bladed knives or a pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse meal.
- Stir in the raisins or mincemeat.
- Stir in the buttermilk to make a soft dough. Knead gently a few times to bring it all together.
- Tip out onto a lightly floured surface and pat out to a rectangle about 12 by 10 inches in side.
- Using a sharp knife, cut into 10 squares.
- Place onto the baking sheet, leaving space between each. Brush each with a bit of buttermilk and sprinkle with some sugar.
- Bake for 15 minutes, until risen and golden brown. Remove to a wire rack to cool slightly.
- Serve warm with butter and jam.
This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at: mariealicejoan at aol dot com Thanks so much for visiting. Do come again!
Everything Bagel Drop Scones. I confess I am a bit late to the Everything Bagel Craze. Apparently it is all about the seasoning and it isn't something which I had really experienced over in the UK.
I did buy myself a bottle of Trader Joes Everything Bagel Seasoning online (at a premium price) while I was still over there, but I never did have a chance to use it. I had thought that all of my spices were packed to come here to Canada, but in all truth very few arrived. I don't know what happened to them.
And so I have had to start again from scratch for the most part. Not cheap I can tell you! Most bottles of herbs and spices cost around $8 and not everything is available. I am really missing out on middle Eastern and Indian spices.
Oh well. I was able to budge together my own mix of Everything Bagel Seasoning which is what I have used here today to make/enhance these lovely drop scones.
If there is anything I love more than a simple scone, its a drop scone! So much easier. No faffing about.
Quick to make, you simply stir all of the ingredients together and drop them onto a baking sheet. SO, maybe it is a little bit more than stir, but not much I can assure you!
And not only that but this is a slow batch recipe, making only half a dozen scones. Perfect for the smaller family or for when you are wanting a bread on the side with your lunch or dinner, but not wanting leftovers!
These Everything Bagel Drop Scones have crunchy flavor-filled outsides and soft fluffy, flaky insides. I would consider them to be the perfect savory scone!
You begin by making the seasoning. Of course if you have ready made seasoning you can skip this step. I wanted to make some to satisfy those who don't have it or who are not able to readily find it in their shops (UK).
It probably doesn't have quite everything in it that you would find in a readymade version, but it is close enough and I think it is delicious.
Its garlicky, oniony, crunchy and just salty enough. What more could you ask for! Its pretty tasty stuff!!
Once you have that made you can get busy with making the scones. Sift all of the dry ingredients into a bowl. Flour, baking powder and salt.
Two kinds of fat are used. Butter and cream cheese. Flaky and soft inside, the cream cheese adds another element of texture, an almost creamy texture which is difficult to describe.
But trust me when I say it is incredibly moreish. You just drop those two fats into the flour and rub them in with your fingertips.
Use a snapping motion and kind of lift the flour as you go. This gets even more air into it, giving you extra flakiness and a lovely rise.
You only want to rub it in until the mixture resembles coarse bread crumbs, with some bits being smaller than others.
This means you will get lovely pockets of flakiness when these bake. You are almost done.
All you have to do now is to stir in some buttermilk. That's right. Just stir in some buttermilk. You can also use regular milk, but I like to use buttermilk.
Some days you will need more than others. I am not sure why that is. You are aiming for a somewhat claggy, thick and droppable mixture.
Drop this into six, evenly sized (or as evenly as you can) clumps on your baking sheet. Leave plenty of space in between for rising, spreading. I try to budge them up a bit so that they are rounder.
But let me tell you, little extra bits that stick out get moreishly crunchy. Just so you know.
Once you have done that all you have to do is to mix together your seed mixture and sprinkle it over top. Be generous. You may not need to use it all, but do be generous.
You can save any extra and store it tightly covered in the cupboard for the next time. Or better yet, double or triple the amounts and you have enough to last you for a goodly amount of time.
That's it! Bake them in a nice hot oven until they are golden brown. One advantage of drop scones is you don't need to pat and roll.
Another advantage is you end up with all these extra crispy bits that everyone enjoys eating. Trust me when I tell you these are going to be enjoyed!
On the side of soups or stews. With cold plates or salads.
As a part of a Ploughman's Lunch along with some cold meats, cheeses, salad and pickles. Today I enjoyed one with one of those cheese snack packs you can get which includes dried cranberries and cashew nuts. Perfect!
They are good all on their own, simply split and buttered. Doesn't that look good?
Because they have cream cheese in them they are flaky, maybe not as flaky as a regular bake, but flaky enough. I can't quite describe the texture actually, but when you bake them you will see what I mean.
I adapted the recipe from one I found in Smitten Kitchen Every Day by Deb Perelman. Her measurements were a bit off, the metric ones, but no problem I have sorted them out properly.
If you are looing for a quick, easy and delicious side bread, look no further. These fit the bill on all counts.
I reckon they would be delicious divided into four rather than six and baked a bit longer to use as breakfast biscuits with some egg, bacon and cheese in side. Oh baby, come to mama!
Everything Bagel Drop Scones
Yield: Makes 6 scones
Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 12 MinTotal time: 22 Min
Nothing could be simpler or more delicious than these easy drop scones. Sprinkled with everything bagel spice they go really well with cold plates, soups, salads, cheeses, etc.
Ingredients
For the topping:
- 1 TBS sesame seeds
- 1 TBS poppy seeds
- 1/2 TBS dried minced onion
- 1 tsp dried minced garlic
- 1/2 tsp coarse sea salt
For the scones:
- 1 1/4 cups (210g) plain all purpose flour
- 1 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 TBS cold butter, cut into cubes
- 2 ounces (65g) cold cream cheese, cut into cubes
- 1/2 cup (120ml) cold buttermilk (May need more)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450*F/225*C/gas mark 7. Line a large baking sheet with some baking parchment or a silicone liner.
- Mix together all of the ingredients for the topping in a small bowl. Set aside.
- Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Drop in the butter and cream cheese. Rub them into the flour mixture using your fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse bread crumbs. Stir in the buttermilk, stirring everything together just until combined and the mixture starts to clump together. It should be damp and not dry. If you think it is too dry, add a bit more milk.
- Divide the mixture into six and drop onto the baking sheet, leaving plenty of space in between. You can budge them into a rounder shape if you wish. Sprinkle the seed mixture evenly over top, dividing it between the scones.
- Bake for 12 minutes, until golden brown on top and the bottoms are golden brown. Scoop off onto a metal rack to cool.
- Serve slightly warm or at room temperature. Best on the day but can be frozen.
Nan's Sugar Scones. I think this has to be one of the best, if not the best scone recipe! I adapted this delicious recipe from one in the April issue of Delicious magazine.
These
are delicious! For soft sided scones, place them close together on the
pan, for crisp crusted ones place them on the baking sheet with some
space in between. Adapted from a recipe found in Delicious magazine.
400g self raising flour, plus extra for dusting (3 1/2 cups)
50g caster sugar (1/4 cup)
1 tsp salt
60g cold unsalted butter, cut into bits (1/4 cup)
310ml buttermilk (1 1/3 cup)
the finely grated zest of 2 unwaxed lemons
the juice of one lemon
15 sugar cubes
buttermilk to glaze
Preheat the oven to 230*C/425*F/ gas mark 7. Line a baking sheet with baking paper. Set aside.
Measure
the flour into a bowl. Whisk in the sugar and salt. Drop in the
butter. Rub the butter in with your fingertip until the mixture
resembles fine bread crumbs. Stir in the lemon zest. Add most of the
buttermilk, stirring it in with a round bladed knife. Only add the
remaining buttermilk to give you a soft dough. Turn out onto a floured
surface and knead gently 2 or 3 times. Pat or roll out to 1 inch
thickness.
Place
the lemon juice into a bowl. Working with one sugar cube at a time dip
them into the lemon juice, turning to coat, and then push them down
into the centre of each scone.
Bake for 12 to 15
minutes until they are risen and golden brown. Serve warm or cold, on
the day, with some cream and jam. Delicious!
From the moment I saw it, I knew it was something I wanted to bake. A fairly ordinary buttermilk English scones recipe which have lemon soaked sugar cubes pushed into their centers!
The scone dough is fairly simple. It was quite damp, so if you want scones that look more like baking powder biscuits, don't add all of the liquid. I found it very tacky.
I did not want to add too much extra flour to them, so I just patted them out on a well floured surface and used a well floured cutter to cut them out.
Because the dough was kind of tacky they spread a bit . . . the ones in the magazine were straight up and down.
I actually liked them spread out a bit, and soft sided . . .
The lemon soaked sugar cubes melt and end up tasting sort of like lemon curd. It's like magic really!
I love magic in cooking, don't you?
In the magazine they recommended serving them with cream and jam, but I can tell you, they were positively delicious all on their own.
Even the day after. In fact we found them quite, quite moreish!
*Nan's Sugar Scones*
Makes 15 medium scones
Cut into 2 1/2 inch rounds using a sharp round cutter and
using a sharp tapping up and down motion. Do not twist the cutter and
flour the cutter in between cuts.
Place the scones onto the baking
sheet as desired. Gather the trimmings and re-pat and cut until you
have used up all the dough, and placing them on the baking sheet.
Once you have finished this, brush the
scones with a bit more buttermilk.
Hope you will give them a go and let me know what you think!
Bon Appetit!
Bon Appetit!
This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at mariealicejoan at aol dot com.
Follow my blog with Bloglovin
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Social Icons