Scones

Not too long ago I took my mother and grandmother to tea. Going to tea is always fun and exciting, but there are two things I look forward to the most- the lavender lemonade and the SCONES. On this particular day, honey lavender was the flavor of the day. Jackpot. Served warm with sides of tart homemade lemon curd and delicious Devon cream... can't get any better!

Even though it's summer and it's as humid as ever... and we are only in June *eye roll*, I got hit with a hankering for scones. I was on a mission. First, what kind of flavors am I wanting? Second, will anyone judge me if I go into the store looking like a sweaty Betty? Well, I'm thinking lemon and raspberry and of course they will, anyone with eyes will judge! In an attempt to look like a human, I showered and was on my way. Quick trip to the store and I'm in the kitchen ready to rock! Let's get into it, shall we?

-500 grams plain flour
-3 tbs granulated sugar
-2 tsp baking powder
-Pinch of salt
-1 lemon
-1 egg
-110 grams cold butter (keep in fridge until the last minute)
-300 ml whole milk
-1 cup raspberries

1. Preheat your oven to 400F.
2. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
3. Add the zest of one lemon.
4. Cube the cold butter and toss into the dry mixture. Time to play with your food and quickly, but efficiently, break the butter up until the mixture has a lumpy sand-like consistency.
5. Make a well in the center of the of the dry mixture and pour the milk in.
6. Slowly mix in the milk until the dough just comes together.
7. Rip the raspberries in half and toss into the dough.
8. Gently toss the dough to combine a bit more, be careful, don't crush them too much.
9. Flour your counter top and dump the dough carefully onto the surface.
10. You don't want to work it too much or make it too warm so just kind of shape it into a square with your hands and and give it a couple passes with a floured rolling pin.
11. With a sharp knife, cut nine squares and place them on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper.
12. Beat your egg and brush onto the scones. If you want to give it a little something extra, you can sprinkle a little sugar on the top as well.
13. When the oven comes to temperature pop those babies in for 15-20 minutes until they are golden brown.
14. BONUS TIME: I thought maybe they needed a little something extra sooooo lemon glaze it is! Just take four heaping tablespoons of powdered sugar and the juice of that lemon you zested earlier and stir! Drizzle the glaze over the top when the scones are cooling and devour.

Warm out of the oven with lots of butter hit the spot for sure. They had a good crunch on the outside yet the inside was dense but fluffy, not too sweet, full of flavor, it was nirvana. 

This is opening my eyes to many more flavor pairings- fruits, chocolates, savory goodies, you name it! I'm quite confident that I'm giving those scones I had at tea a run for their money.

Definitely try these, they are really easy, simple, but impressive!

Meaghan