Strawberry scones

Scones, again. Same formula as for my other scone recipes on here, but this time baked with some fresh Oregon Strawberries thrown in. Enjoy!

2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 Tbsp sugar
1 1/3 cups heavy cream
1 cup diced strawberries

Preheat oven to 375°F.
Whisk together dry ingredients in a bowl. Toss in strawberries. Pour in cream and mix with wooden spoon. Batter will be very thick and may not look mixed. That's okay.

Turn out onto floured surface, knead a few turns, just until the dough holds together and is cohesive. With strawberries in the dough, it will be very sticky and messy. Use a bench scraper and extra flour for dusting if needed.

Pat dough with your hands into a round shape about an inch thick. Cut into 8 wedges, place on cookie sheet.

Bake 22 minutes.

Note: I found that I had to bake these scones longer than I do for plain scones. It is because of the extra moisture from the berries. I would check them after 20. You want the scones to be light golden in color and not gooey in the middle. Crack open one if you need to and check the middle. Keep baking until done and be sure to note how long they took so you will know for next time.

Also, these are not super sweet. If you prefer a sweeter scone, almost dessert like, add more sugar up to 1/2 cup.

Chocolate chip hazelnut Scones

Here's another scone recipe for you, the perfect foil for a cup of coffee. It's one of my favorites and so easy to whip up when you want a treat for your coffee break.

I started out using my British Scone recipe, then adapted it for the addition of the chocolate chips and hazelnuts. After a few trials, I finally had it down to this perfect recipe.

Enjoy!

Makes 8 wedges

2 cups all-purpose unbleached flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped hazelnuts
1/2 cup chocolate chips, semi-sweet
1 1/3 cup heavy whipping cream

In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Stir in the nuts and chocolate chips. Making a well in the middle of this, pour in the cream. Mix together using a wooden spoon. This dough will be very thick. You may add just a touch more cream if the mix is too dry.

Turn dough out onto a floured surface. Shape and pat into a round, 1 inch high. Using a floured knife, cut the round into 8 equal sized wedges.

Place wedges onto a cookie sheet and bake in the oven at 375° for 16 minutes. The bottoms of the scones will be golden, but the tops will still be pale. Leave on the cookie sheet for a minute and then remove to a wire rack to cool slightly. Serve warm if you like.

***Revised this recipe April 17,  2011. *** Oops! A friend brought to my attention that I failed to include the sugar in this recipe. She had made these scones, and thought them wonderful, but wondered at that they didn't call for any sugar. My recipe was supposed to have sugar, I told her. And so, alerted to the mistake in this post, I have made the necessary changes. So, evidently, these scones still taste lovely with less (or no) sugar, if you feel so inclined to make them that way.

British Scones

I love the idea of afternoon tea. I very much enjoy a cup or pot of hot black tea and tasty English tidbits. I was fortunate, years ago, to take Afternoon Tea at the Empress Hotel in Victoria, BC and it was a magical experience (even though, strictly speaking, it was not British but Canadian.) Even before, and ever since, I've enjoyed playing the lady in my own home; brewing up a pot of tea, warming up my favorite tea pot, using my best antique china and whipping up a batch of something baked to serve alongside.

I came across this recipe awhile ago on one of my trips to the local library. A favorite pastime of mine is to check out a dozen cooking and baking books and peruse them for hours at my leisure. This particular book was about a well loved tea house in a hole-in-the-wall place in New York. The woman who owns the place is a crazy wild British woman. The thing I liked about the book was the true and authentic recipes for all the British favorites. This recipe for scones was among them.


The taste and texture of these are truly delightful. The outsides have a slight crisp, with the insides being fluffy and soft, yet sturdy with a good crumb. I ate rather too many of these, they are delicious. Serve with fresh whipped cream and jam to top.

Makes 8 triangles

2 cups sifted all-purpose unbleached flour
1 tsp baking powder
2 Tbsp organic sugar
1 tsp finely ground sea salt
1 1/3 cup heavy cream

Preheat the oven to 375°.

Sift all the dry ingredients into a large bowl. Add the heavy cream and mix very gently with either your hands or a wooden spoon. Do not over mix. If the dough is very sloppy, you may add a bit of flour.

Lightly flour a board, or counter top. Using your hands, turn out the dough onto the floured surface and spread and pat the dough into a round shape, with 1 inch thickness.

With a knife, cut the round into 8 wedges. Place each wedge onto an un-greased baking sheet a few inches apart. Bake for 15 minutes, just until the scones no longer look wet in the crevices and the bottoms are golden.