Gold Medal Classic Scones Recipes

BEST EVER CLASSIC SCONES

Steps:

• Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and prepare a baking sheet or two (depending on how large your baking sheets are) by lining them with parchment paper. Set aside.
• In a large bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Mix well with a fork or a whisk.
• In a liquid measuring cup, measure the cream and add the eggs. Whisk together using a fork and set aside.
• The next few steps should be done quickly, as you're working with cold butter and you want the butter to be as cold as possible when it hits the heat of the oven. This will result in a flaky scone, rather than a heavy and dense one.
• Cut up your butter, right from the fridge, into little pieces and dump it into the flour mixture. Using your hands (wash them well first and remove any rings), pick up handfuls of the butter and flour mixture, rubbing the pieces of butter and the flour between the heels of your hands to create "sheets" of butter. You should act quickly here, and don't allow the pieces of butter to sit in your hands for any length of time as the heat from your hands will cause it to soften. The goal is to create paper-thin pieces of butter, small and large throughout the mixture. Once there are no thick chunks of butter remaining, only thin sheets, remove your hands from the mixture. Hands equal heat, so handle the mixture as little as possible.
• Pour in the wet ingredients and mix roughly with a fork. Do not over mix, or the result will be heavy and dense.
• Once the wet ingredients have been incorporated but there are still several streaks of flour, turn the dough out onto a clean and floured counter surface. Press the dough down into the counter and then fold one half over the other half like you are folding a piece of paper. Press down again and make another fold. Repeat this 2 or 3 more times, gathering any outlying dough bits and flour into your folds. Don't knead the dough like you would if you were making bread, and don't stir or mix the dough like you would if you were making muffins. Scones are technically a pastry, so the goal is flaky layers that are created by the thin sheets of butter and all the folding.
• Once your dough is formed after folding several times, shape it into a rectangle about 1 3/4 to 2 inches thick (approximately). Again, be careful not to handle the dough too much, so a few little cracks here and there are fine.
• Cut out circles of dough using a biscuit cutter or the rim of a class or jar. Arrange the circles of dough on the parchment-lined baking sheet and brush the tops with the egg wash (whisk together the egg and water).
• You'll need to re-shape the leftover dough to form another rectangle - do this carefully and gently, without adding much extra flour if possible. The less you handle the dough, the more tender and flaky the scones will be. Cut out the remainder of the scones until you have about 10-12 in total.
• Bake for about 15-18 minutes just until barely golden brown and the surface of the scones lose their shine. Let them cool for 3-5 minutes on the baking sheet. Transfer them to a cooling rack to cool completely.

SCONES

Steps:

• 1. Cut shortening into dry ingredients.
• 2. Add eggs and sour milk to make a soft dough. Stir in fruit.
• 3. If using a 9x9 pan grease that and put dough in and bake at 375 degrees for 20-30 minutes.
• 4. For individual scones turn dough out onto lightly floured surface and pat into a 9 inch circle about an inch or so thick, then cut with a sharp knife into 12 pie shaped pieces. Place on greased sheet and bake at 375 degrees for 20-30 minutes.

CLASSIC PASTRY SCONES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• In a mixing bowl whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
• Grate the frozen butter and add to dry mixture. Use a fork or pastry blender to cut in the butter.
• In a separate bowl whisk together yogurt, cream, egg, and vanilla until well blended.
• Add to the dry mixture along with craisins (or other add-ins) and use a rubber spatula to fold the ingredients in until it starts to come together in large clumps.
• Gently knead mixture by hand (in the mixing bowl) just a few times until it comes together in a ball. Try not to handle the dough too much.
• Dust a clean surface with a little flour and drop dough on top. Gently pat and shape into an 8-inch circle. Cut into 8 wedges then transfer to a parchment lined baking sheet.
• Bake in preheated oven until golden, about 16 - 18 minutes.
• Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes before drizzling the glaze on top. These are best served the day they are prepared.

CLASSIC SCONES

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 450 degrees. Put the flour, salt, baking powder and 2 tablespoons of the sugar in a food processor and pulse to combine. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles cornmeal.
• Add the egg and just enough cream to form a slightly sticky dough. If it's too sticky, add a little flour, but very little; it should still stick a little to your hands.
• Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead once or twice, then press it into a 3/4-inch-thick circle and cut into 2-inch rounds with a biscuit cutter or glass. Put the rounds on an ungreased baking sheet. Gently reshape the leftover dough and cut again. Brush the top of each scone with a bit of cream and sprinkle with a little of the remaining sugar.
• Bake for 9 to 11 minutes, or until the scones are a beautiful golden brown. Serve immediately.

ULTIMATE SCONES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 220C/gas 7/fan 200C and lightly butter a baking sheet (unless you're using a non-stick sheet). Tip the flour into a mixing bowl with the salt. Shoot in the butter, then rub together with your fingers to make a reasonably fine crumbed mixture, lifting to aerate the mixture as you go. Try not to overrub, as the mixture will be lighter if it's a little bit flaky. Now stir in the sugar.
• Measure the buttermilk, then mix in the milk to slacken it. Make a bit of a well in the middle of the flour mixture with a round-bladed knife, then pour in most of this buttermilk mixture, holding a little bit back in case it's not needed. Using the knife, gently work the mixture together until it forms a soft, almost sticky, dough. Work in any loose dry bits of mixture with the rest of the buttermilk. Don't overwork at this point or you will toughen the dough.
• Lift the ball of soft dough out of the bowl and put it on to a very lightly floured surface. Knead the mixture just 3-4 times to get rid of the cracks.
• Pat the dough gently with your hands to a thickness of no less than 2cm and no more than 2.5cm. Dip a 5.5cm round fluted cutter into a bowl of flour - this helps to stop the dough sticking to it, then cut out the scones by pushing down quickly and firmly on the cutter with the palm of your hand - don't twist it.You will hear the dough give a big sigh as the cutter goes in. Gather the trimmings lightly then pat and cut out a couple more scones.
• Place on the baking sheet and sift over a light dusting of flour or glaze if you wish. Bake for 10-12 minutes until risen and golden. Cool on a wire rack, uncovered if you prefer crisp tops, or covered loosely with a cloth for soft ones.
• Serve with strawberry jam and a generous mound of clotted cream (Cornish people put jam first, then cream, Devonians the other way round). Eat them as fresh as you can.

CLASSIC SCONES WITH JAM & CLOTTED CREAM

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Tip the self-raising flour into a large bowl with ¼ tsp salt and the baking powder, then mix.
• Add the butter, then rub in with your fingers until the mix looks like fine crumbs. Stir in the caster sugar.
• Put the milk into a jug and heat in the microwave for about 30 secs until warm, but not hot. Add the vanilla extract and a squeeze of lemon juice, then set aside for a moment.
• Put a baking tray in the oven. Make a well in the dry mix, then add the liquid and combine it quickly with a cutlery knife - it will seem pretty wet at first.
• Scatter some flour onto the work surface and tip the dough out. Dredge the dough and your hands with a little more flour, then fold the dough over 2-3 times until it's a little smoother. Pat into a round about 4cm deep. Take a 5cm cutter (smooth-edged cutters tend to cut more cleanly, giving a better rise) and dip it into some flour. Plunge into the dough, then repeat until you have four scones. You may need to press what's left of the dough back into a round to cut out another four.
• Brush the tops with a beaten egg, then carefully arrange on the hot baking tray. Bake for 10 mins until risen and golden on the top. Eat just warm or cold on the day of baking, generously topped with jam and clotted cream. If freezing, freeze once cool. Defrost, then put in a low oven (about 160C/140C fan/gas 3) for a few minutes to refresh.

TROPICAL ISLAND SCONES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 425°F. Spray large cookie sheet with cooking spray.
• In large bowl, stir Bisquick mix and granulated sugar. Cut in butter, using pastry blender (or pulling 2 table knives through ingredients in opposite directions), until mixture is size of fine crumbs. Stir in chips, coconut and lime peel.
• In small bowl, beat whipping cream and egg. Stir into Bisquick mixture until dough forms. Sprinkle work surface and hands with additional Bisquick mix; lightly knead dough 5 times. Divide dough in half. Shape each half into 6-inch round; cut each round into 6 wedges. Place on cookie sheet.
• Bake 11 to 14 minutes or until golden brown. Meanwhile, in small bowl, stir powdered sugar and lime juice until smooth. Use metal spatula to loosen scones from cookie sheet. Drizzle with glaze. Serve warm.

SKINNY MOCHA SCONES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°F. Lightly grease a large baking sheet or line with parchment paper; set aside.
• In a medium bowl combine flour, the 1/2 cup oats, sugar, cocoa powder, espresso powder, baking powder, and salt. Using a pastry blender, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture; set aside.
• In a medium bowl combine yogurt and egg white. Stir in chocolate pieces. Add yogurt mixture all at once to flour mixture; stir just until moistened.
• Turn out dough on a lightly floured surface. Knead by folding and gently pressing dough for 10 to 12 strokes or until nearly smooth. Pat or lightly roll dough into an 8x6-inch rectangle. Cut rectangle crosswise into 4 strips. Cut each strip into 3 rectangles to make 12 pieces.
• Place dough pieces 1 inch apart on prepared baking sheet. If desired, sprinkle with additional rolled oats. Bake for 13 to 15 minutes or until tops are set. Remove scones from baking sheet. Cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Serve warm.