The scone seems somewhat less indulgent than the muffin or croissant, or at least that’s how I justify eating it. It is my first thought on particularly sunny mornings. Something about the combination of scone and coffee seems impossibly delectable. The flakiness of the scone can only be washed down with the rich boldness of your dark brew. Further, to me, scones go hand in hand with Easter. Last Easter, for a picnic brunch on Twin Peaks, I made lemon poppy seed scones. I glazed them with a vanilla lemon icing and found the results perfectly tender and sweet. Lemon zest is always the key to a good poppy seed scone.
This Easter, I attempted this recipe from 101cookbooks.com. I have been eyeing it for some time. The presentation alone is reason enough to give this recipe a try. My roommates looked at the finished result with perplexity. Is it an extra long granola bar? Well, actually, it’s a Mega Scone. Yes, the name is a little extreme for what the product actually is, but I was happy with the taste and thought it a good alternative to an all white flour, butter, refined sugar concoction.
The recipe calls for whole-wheat pastry flour, which I was hesitant to buy but found it made all the difference. The scone was not heavy, or grainy, but instead light and just crumbly enough to qualify as a scone. I have the sense that if whole wheat flour was used, this would be more apt to be a paper weight. The jam that is spread throughout provides the sweetness for a scone that otherwise would be too bland. I thought the icing used to glaze the scone was critical to this effect too. So be sure not to skimp on that step. The rolling of the dough around the jam filling layer also proved a fun task. The dough did tear but nothing a few watered fingers could not patch up. Be sure not to over mix the dough and a pastry cutter comes in handy if you do not have a food processor on hand. As with all baked goods that desire a fluffy, flakey texture, be sure the butter is chilled – this will allow for all those buttered cubes to produce steam in the oven and create pockets of flaky tenderness. Though Easter has come and gone again, any morning would be a suitable occasion to make these scones.
Also, on an equally happy note, it's spring!
Hate to be a brat but the butter and sugar mean that scones are the same or possibly worse than croissants and muffins. Still, every now and then can't hurt.
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