best scone recipe « Putney Farm

Lemon Buttermilk Scone.

Another scone recipe? Well, yes. Firstly, Carolyn makes them a lot (the boys and I don’t mind). Secondly, if there is a “gateway drug” into the joys of baking, scones are it. Scones are quick to make, use common ingredients, are easy to tune/tweak and the dough can be frozen for future use. Close to the perfect pastry.

But that doesn’t mean all scones are created equal….we like great scones. A little crunch on the outside, tender and moist on the inside, sweet but not cloying. Happily, Carolyn bakes up some truly awesome scones. And this recipe for lemon buttermilk scones is one of Carolyn’s better variations. And since the recipe features two of our favorite “special” ingredients, we aren’t surprised we like it so much.

What special ingredients are we talking about? That would be citrus zest and buttermilk. If you want to be a better baker and/or cook, these are ingredients you need to use on a regular basis. Citrus zest brings clean bright citrus notes to dishes without the liquid, sourness and acid of the juice. If you wonder what that extra kick is in that super-tasty chicken, fish or veggie dish- look for some zest (sometimes you can’t even see it, but it was there). In baking or ice-cream making citrus zest brings out big flavors with minimal footprint or impact on the chemistry/balance of a recipe. And don’t even get us stared on citrus zest and cocktails…..a lifetime study (one we are pursuing as we speak).

The daily haul from the garden- good with scones.

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Maple Moon Scones.

Mother’s Day has come and gone, but Carolyn is such a cool Mom that she made these scones for us, her folks and friends for Sunday morning (don’t worry, Carolyn got a nice Mother’s Day dinner). She is indeed the perfect woman. And these scones are worthy of a special occasion. Big (huge, really), moist and with plenty of maple flavor, these are some serious scones. They do look like the moon, too. Cool.

The recipe comes from Ina Garten (the Barefoot Contessa), although Carolyn adapted a number of ingredients, including some oat flour, date sugar and maple essence for deeper flavor. But the standard Ina Garten formula of ~~scads~~ lots of butter and buttermilk stays the same. Ina never met a buttery scone or shortbread she didn’t like. But if you are baking from scratch, the recipe may as well work. And butter does make everything better. Add some real maple syrup and it is hard to go wrong.

And it truly is hard to go wrong here. This recipe is “scone 101”, plus some extra glaze. Mix dry ingredients, add in cold butter, mix the wet ingredients and add to the dry, roll, cut and bake. The glaze is super-easy as well, if you can stir, you will have glaze. So if your waistline can take it (or if you have hungry kids), you can make these scones whenever you like.

Even better, you can cut the scones from the raw dough and refrigerate them for a few days without any loss of quality. So if you want scones during the week, make the dough and then bake the scones as needed. But you may as well cook the full batch, your crew will certainly eat them, and your friends will be happy if you share.