"Inside it is, sah, teatime doncha know, hot scones, dab o' meadowcream, strawb'rry preserve, an' mint tea, wot! A charmin' and delicious daily ritual, sah!"
-Major Mullein, Eulalia!, p. 18
This description of the teatime meal brought to Major Mullein and Lord Asheye by the haremaids Tringle and Furps served as the inspiration for these scones. Since the scone type is not specified, I decided to keep it simple - moist, crusty, and lightly-spiced vanilla scones.
They are delicious, and especially easy if you have a food processor. However, I realize many people do not have one, so alternate directions are provided in italics.
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Assemble the ingredients: all-purpose flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, cold unsalted butter (salted can be used, but I think unsalted has a better flavor for baking), plain yogurt, egg, vanilla extract, milk, and raw sugar (also called turbinado sugar - you can use regular sugar if you don't have raw).Adjust the rack in your oven to the middle position and preheat to 400 F.
Measure 2 cups of flour, 1/3 cup sugar, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1/4 teaspoon baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, and 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg in a food processor bowl. Process until thoroughly combined.
Measure ingredients into a large bowl and combine with a whisk.
Cut 1 stick of butter (1/2 cup) into small chunks.
Add butter to the flour mixture and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
Cut the butter into the flour mixture using your fingers, two knives, or a pastry cutter.
In a small bowl, combine 1/2 cup of yogurt, 1 egg, and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.
Add yogurt mixture to flour and butter mixture, and pulse until it forms large dough chunks and leaves the sides of the bowl.
Add yogurt mixture to flour and butter mixture and stir with a large fork until until it forms large dough chunks.
Dump the mixture into a large bowl and gather into a ball.
Simply gather the mixture into a ball.
Lightly flour your the work surface and your hands. Press the dough into an 8" circle, approx. 3/4" thick.
Cut the circle into 8 wedges using a sharp paring knife.
Place the scones on a baking sheet, about 1" apart.
Pour a small amount of milk into a bowl and grab a pastry brush.
Brush each scone with a little bit of milk...
....and sprinkle with a pinch of raw sugar.
Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, until the tops are golden brown and the bottoms are medium brown around the edges.
Enjoy warm or at room temperature.
Here's a handy printable version (copy and paste the text into a word program on your computer such as Microsoft Word or Wordpad):
Salamandastron Scones
Makes 8 Scones
Theredwallcook.blogspot.com
Ingredients:
-2 cups all-purpose flour
-1/3 cup sugar
-1 teaspoon baking powder
-1/4 teaspoon baking soda
-1/2 teaspoon salt
-1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
-1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
-1 stick cold, unsalted butter
-1/2 cup plain yogurt
-1 large egg
-1 teaspoon vanilla extract
-Milk
-Raw sugar
Directions:
1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat to 400 F.
2. In food processor bowl, mix flour, 1/3 cup sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Cut butter into small chunks and add to flour mixture - pulse until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
3. In a small bowl, combine yogurt, egg, and vanilla until smooth.
4. Add yogurt mixture to flour mixture and pulse until large dough chunks form. Dump the mixture into a large bowl and form into a ball.
5. Lightly flour the work surface and your hands and pat the dough into an 8" circle, approx. 3/4" thick. Use a sharp knife to cut into eight wedges; place on a cookie sheet about 1" apart. Brush each scone with milk and sprinkle with raw sugar. Bake until golden on top and lightly browned on the bottom, about 15 to 18 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.
