Majida Rashid
There’s no more important debate than whether it’s ‘scone as in gone’ or ‘scone as in bone’.
It’s hot and schools are closed. Kids are at home in between going to camp. Entertaining them can be challenging. But these simple and easy to bake scones are ideal to keep them busy. They love using their hands to incorporate butter in the flour. In fact, the grandchild who helped me make a batch for recent guests asked when I would make them again. Such is the allure of scones because the fruit of labor can be eaten shortly afterwards. Scones are also good for summer when we don’t want to slave in the kitchen.
To me, scones were round and a little flaky with mild flavor. They can be a little sweet also. They are eaten with jam and, or clotted cream. I always had plain ones because I never liked the contrasting textures and flavors. Imagine my surprise when I saw big pastry triangles covered with a thick white sugary glaze labeled as scones in a coffee shop in Ann Arbor, Mich. Despite my dislike of the glaze, I bought one to find out how it tasted. Besides being overwhelmingly sweet, it was dense and crumbly and nowhere close to scones I had eaten.
Whenever I describe scones to my American friends they think I’m referring to biscuits. We learn British English in Pakistan so to me a biscuit is a cookie. Go figure my ignorance about American biscuits. Later, when I had an opportunity to eat biscuits, they never reminded me of scones. While American biscuits originated in the Southwest, scones come from Scotland.
Scones need only a few ingredients. They are easy and quick to make. Baking time is fifteen to twenty minutes. Butter should be extremely chilled. For scones and pies I usually cut frozen butter with a big serrated knife before adding it to the flour. This prevents the butter from softening while incorporating it in the flour. The dough should be handled lightly. I use a shot glass to cut the scone and avoid twisting the dough.
Last Sunday we had friends come over. So the night before I decided to make savory scones with a twist and served them plain. They were a hit even with American friends and disappeared quickly! I used cheese and dried apricots. Growing up dried apricots were my favorite fruit and they still are. We had nomadic women who came to our house and sold beautiful loose silk material during winters and sun-dried apricots during summer. They always wore long black frocks and had light blue tattoos on their foreheads. Each of their ears displayed numerous silver hoops like earrings. I’m certain they just dried the apricots in the sun without taking any hygienic measures. But nothing matched the flavor of those chewy, sticky sweet and sour golden gems.
They are available in Middle Eastern stores. Turkish apricots are soft and sweet. I think they add sugar to them. But the South African ones are the best because they have a bit of tanginess. I halve each apricot and use scissors to dice it into small pieces.
Scones
Ingredients
3 cups all-purpose flour
6 oz unsalted chilled butter
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt, optional
4 oz strong cheddar cheese, finely grated
8-10 dried apricots, thinly diced
2-3 tablespoons grated dried coconut
1 egg, beaten
3/4 cup whole milk or half and half
1/2 cup extra flour
Instructions
Dust a working surface with flour.
Oil a baking tray and then dust it with flour.
Coat the apricots and the coconut with a tablespoon of flour.
Preheat oven to 400° F.
For the scones:
Mix together the flour, baking powder, salt.
Using hands mix in the butter until the flour resembles breadcrumbs.
Gently mix in cheese, coconut and diced apricots.
Quickly blend the egg and milk and gradually pour into the flour.
Combine the ingredients with fingertips until they stick together. Do not over handle.
Transfer the dough onto the dusted surface and gather into a ball.
Gently roll out into about half inch thickness.
Cut the dough either into eight triangles or into round scones. Each triangle can be cut into two pieces.
Bake for 15-20 minutes.
Serve hot with tea or coffee.
Serves 4 – 6.
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Foodie Majida Rashid lives in Texas. Food and cooking are her passion. Her presentation about her love of food can be viewed on USA Today’s network: https:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0xi566VSPo – We Spread Love Through Food @Frontiers_Of _Flavor Her philosophical writing can be read at apakistaniwomansjourney.wordpress.com.
