A scone is classified as a bread, but to me, they seem more of a biscuit...which technically...is a bread too. Scones originated in Scotland and southern England...and they are not to be confused, according to Wikipedia, with tea cakes and currant buns. But, stupid me, I can hardly resist clicking the lateral links there at Wikipedia, and after reading entries for both tea cakes and currant buns, I can't be anything BUT confused.
Anyway, back to scones. As you know, the Summer Olympics are being held in London this year. And the Queen's Diamond Jubilee was celebrated this year too. In commemoration, then, with two events that I am largely disinvolved with - it's scone time!
I happened to have an extra half-bag of chocolate chips sitting around, and that's why I chose to add them. However, I've also got in a request from my daughter to make scones again, this time with frozen blueberries (also available to me at present). The book I lifted the recipe from, Mom's Big Book of Baking, also has a recipe for Oatmeal Scones, which would make a nice match with a fruit jam, I think.
Chocolate-Chip Scones (courtesy of Lauren Chattman in the book linked above)
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
6 Tbsp. unsalted butter, chilled
Cut the butter into small cubes and place in freezer for additional chill.
3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
In a mixer, combine the dry ingredients and add in the chilled butter. Mix on low speed until mixture looks like coarse meal. For me and my Breville, this took about four minutes. Then, stir in:
1 cup of chocolate chips
3/4 nuts (Note: I didn't have nuts, so I used oatmeal - it worked well!)
Then, stir in until JUST moistened:
2 large, slightly beaten eggs
3/4 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
The book says to lightly flour a working surface to roll out and cut the dough...but I found "moderately flour" worked better for me, since the dough is pretty sticky. Divide the dough in half, and pat each half into a six-inch circle. Cut each circle into six wedges and place on a cookie sheet a half-inch apart. Note: I lined my sheet with parchment paper, but the next time I make these, I think I'll try simply greasing my sheets. I like a golden-brown bottom on my baked goods, which I didn't get with the paper.
Sprinkle a mixture of 2 Tbsp sugar and 1/4 tsp cinnamon on top of the scones. Or don't...it's optional. I'll probably try some turbinado sugar (Sugar in the Raw) next time I make these.
Bake until golden, about 15-18 minutes.
Eat these yummy things with tea, coffee, milk, jam, clotted cream...you know, whatever you've got sitting around.
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