Scones

There is definitely something to be said for homemade scones. Tall, fluffy, light, absolutely delicious with some jam and cream (is there any other way?!) I find their shop bought relatives are so much more cakey and bland. All the same shape and height, who wants that? boring!

Scones really are so easy to make. For a sure fire success I have just 2 "rules"

1. Handle the dough as little as possible.
2. Use cream of tartar (I really have no idea why it makes them so light,, must be some magical chemistry going on somewhere)

Ingredients

500g Plain flour
1 tsp salt
4 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
75g cold diced butter
300ml milk (you could use buttermilk if desired)

• weigh out all the dry ingredients into a bowl, and rub in the butter. It shouldn't really look like breadcrumbs, more like damp flour. Make a well in the centre and pour in the milk in one go and stir until combined.
  
• Turn this out on to a floured surface, and knead very lightly to form a soft light dough. This really should take about 15 seconds.
• Roll out to about 3 cms and then cut out with a pastry/ biscuit cutter. I use a 6 1/2 cm crinkly edged cutter. Place on to a floured baking sheet, and pop in a pre-heated oven 220 degrees for about 10-12 minutes.
  

You can either glaze with egg whites or dust with flour before they go in the oven. This recipes makes between 9-12 depending on how thick you go with the dough.



Variations: You can literally go mental! throw in a handful of raisans, cherries, grated cheese. I like to add a few drops of vanilla, and serve with cream, jam, and a sprinkling of icing sugar.

delicious!