SCONES:
10 ounces (2 ¼ cups) all purpose flour
1/3 cup granulated sugar (the recipe in the book has only 1/4 cup!)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon table salt
4 ounces (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into 6 pieces and chilled
1/2 cup dried cherries, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup chopped crystallized ginger
¾ cup + 1 tablespoon buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
TOPPING (optional):
2 tablespoons buttermilk or heavy cream
2 tablespoons turbinado or demerara sugar
To make the scones
1. Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment or a nonstick baking liner.
2. Combine the flour. Sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a large bowl. Whisk until well blended. Add the chilled butter pieces. Using a pastry blender, cut the butter into the dry ingredients until the butter is the size of peas (about 1/2 – inch).
3. Add the chopped dried cherries and ginger and toss with a rubber spatula until well dispersed. Add the vanilla to the buttermilk and stir to combine. Drizzle the buttermilk mixture over the ingredients. Toss with the rubber spatula until the dry ingredients are wet and the dough just comes together in moist clumps.
4. Dump the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Briefly knead the dough to combine and shape it into a 7-inch round. If using the topping, brush the buttermilk or heavy cream evenly over the top of the dough and sprinkle with the sugar.
5. Using a lightly floured knife, cut the dough into 8 equal wedges. Arrange the wedges on the prepared baking sheet, about 2 inches apart. Bake until golden brown and pick inserted in the center of one scone come out clean, about 18 minutes.
SWITCH-INS: instead of the dried cherries and crystallized ginger, choose one of the following:
3/4 cup chopped bitter or semisweet chocolate
OR
3/4 chopped, toasted walnuts or pecans
OR
1 teaspoon finely grated orange zest
2/3 cup dried cranberries or chopped dried apricots or dried currants
OR
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/3 cup chopped crystallized ginger
Big Batch..for a home invasion!! I am still laughing. Thanks for visiting me at Big Smiles. And thank you for the tip about the website having too much sugar. I love details like that.
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These scones are a winner! The next time I'm gonna do with cranberries. Great bake! Looking forward to next month's Brioche!
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Hi Karin!
Thanks for stopping by my site and leaving such a kind message. I’m so happy to be a part of ABC, and make some new blogging baker friends- hopefully you included.
Your scones turned out beautifully- golden and lofty. The hazelnut and cranberry combo sounds delicious and it's good to know I can add a little whole wheat next time to make them a bit healthier.
Hope you have a great weekend!
Fondly,
Joy
http://hotovenwarmheart.wordpress.com/
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Yay, another ABC-er who *successfully* subbed WW flour for some of the AP flour. I'm definitely doing that next time. Your scones turned out beautiful. Nice rise! I froze the leftovers (6) and last night, we reheated one in the toaster oven after thawing. Yum! The smell alone is just amazing!! Btw, thanks for pointing out the difference between the website recipe and the book!!
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I used to have these home invasions… with a mysterious connection between the pile of teenage sneakers in the hallway and the liqueurs I kept for cooking in the kitchen!
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Me too! It's nice if you find a cookbook where so many recipes turn out so good.
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Thank you, Joy. It's really nice to bake in such enjoyable company.
I often exchange some of the white flour with whole wheat, 10% or 1/4. It adds a little more depth to the flavor and, also, keeps the pastries longer fresh.
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Thank you, Hanaâ. I didn't need to freeze any, I gave two to friends, and we ate the others. Thanks to the bit of whole wheat they kept really well, and I had the last one yesterday, re-crisped in the toaster oven – it tasted like freshly baked.
The recipes that Abby Dodge posted either on her website or other sites are often a bit different from the ones in her book. But the much larger amount of sugar seemed strange.
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These sound wonderful! My daughter & I both are avid scone eaters and these are perfect. Thanks a bunch!
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You are very welcome, Pam. I hope you will like them.
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