Scones - Easy as pie

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Augusta Scattergood

You'd think it took all day to create the buttery goodies, but this first cousin to a biscuit is easy as pie to bake.

A perfect gift
Since scones trace their ancestry to the British Isles, what better time to make them than St. Patrick's Day, although the Irish, the Scots and the Welsh all claim to have invented scones first. Whatever the history, they are perfect as a New Mom gift and impressive as the main event at a baby or wedding shower.

Bake them, serve them, gift them
I'd never heard of scones when I first made biscuits in my mother's kitchen, where I learned to sprinkle in the cold water one teaspoon at a time and to cut them just so with a jelly glass first dipped in flour. I gave up baking biscuits during my healthier whole wheat phase, and although savory scones can be made using whole wheat flour and adding flavorings such as cheese, rosemary or chives, I prefer the traditional sweet scone most often served at an English cream tea.

I still try to use as little refined white flour and heavy cream as possible, but the occasional splurge can't be all that bad, especially if the scones are going out of the house or being shared with friends and family!

Most of the scones for sale in bakeries, food markets and the like, just don't cut it, pardon the pun. They need to be served warm, right from the oven. A scone, split down the middle, spread with homemade strawberry jam, and served with a cup of Earl Grey tea, is the warmest hospitality available on short notice. Lemon curd or clotted cream, purchased from a gourmet shop or larger supermarkets, will add to your enjoyment, and in a pinch, whipped cream will substitute just fine.

Edel Thomas is my friend from Dublin who claims she can make scones with skim milk if necessary, but she's a truly expert cook who works magic with everything she bakes. I wouldn't attempt to bake a scone with anything less than half-and-half.

Lynn Day, a mom from New York City, shared the recipe she makes with her young children to give as a gift to welcome new babies. In her version, you slather the dough with melted butter and sprinkle it with sugar. This is the perfect scone recipe for making with kids who will love to butter their hands and shape the dough. The scones are cut into wedges before baking on a cookie sheet. Lynn claims this makes them easier to wrap in a linen napkin for transporting to a sick friend or a new mom. They also freeze well, unbaked or baked. That is, if you can keep your family from eating them first.

Aunt Lynn's Scones
Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup chopped dried fruit (currants, raisins, cranberries or your choice)
1 1/4 cups heavy cream

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Combine flour, baking powder, salt and sugar with a fork. Add the dried fruit and mix well.

2. Add the cream and stir: It will be quite sticky. Turn the mixture onto a lightly floured board and knead 8 or 9 times. Add a little flour if it's too sticky. Shape the dough into an 8-10 inch flat round.

3. Melt 3 Tablespoons of butter. Pour the butter over the round of dough and make sure the sides are covered as well. (Mush it around with your fingers!)

4. Sprinkle the top with 2 Tablespoons of sugar.

5. Using a sharp knife, cut the dough like a pie into 12 wedges and place the wedges onto a lightly-greased cookie sheet.

6. Bake 12 to15 minutes, until golden brown.