Oh, dear..........

[Tangerine LaBamba]

If this doesn't look dangerously wonderful, I don't know what does - and I'm not even that big on scones. But, this is a definite "WANT!" The review may not be that positive, but I don't care. I WANT!!!!

http://www.seriouseats.com/2009/03/mixed-review-king-arthur-flour-blueberry-sour-cream-scone-mix.html

[Stinky The Clown]

1. I have to say ...... I'm not that big on scones

I find them overly dry and hard to eat unless one is well hydrated.

Or maybe I never had good scones.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

2. There's no such thing as a good scone........

They're - to me, anyway - emblematic of the lousy reputation British food used to have. But, there's something about that mix that just drives me around the bend.

WANT!!!

If I can find it, and I fix them, I'm sure I'll be back here, warning people away from them. But, for now, WANT!!!!

[hippywife]

3. I'm thinking of making the first recipe

in Lucinda's OP in this thread this weekend. They don't look dry at all. They look rather tantalizing, actually.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=236&topic_id=58745

[Warpy]

5. You're supposed to be dunking them in a glass of wine

They become quite palatable that way.

I was never that crazy about them, either, although I found that sprinkling them with cinnamon sugar before they baked took the curse off.

[NashVegas]

11. American Producers Have Funny Ideas About Scones

US scones tend to have a very dense, cake-like interior. The ones I had in SF (in the 1980s, before the cafe explosion) and in the UK had a much more (U.S.) biscuit-like interior.

Some links of what scones are supposed to be like, according to moi:


http://www.cornishrecipe.co.uk/Scone.html


http://www.wyldestogo.co.uk/info_cakes.htm


http://www.glittyknittykitty.co.uk/archive/gluttykitty/soupkitty/index.html

[Tab]

15. I think they're on the order of bagels or croissants

(and I've never had a good scone either) but just like most bagels you get are crap nowadays, a REALLY good bagel or a really good croissant is to die for.

I'd like to think that scones were that way, and I just never had a "real" one. Like your experience, all mine have been dried out and about as uninteresting as humanly possible, but they must have a reputation for a reason.

Actually, the phrase is "hot buttered scones", and so I'm going to guess that a really good english bakery can make them really well.

But I've never had them.

[Shakespeare]

4. Oh, that looks GOOD.

I've never been able to replicate the world's best scone: Au Bon Pain's cinnamon scone, made with some kind of little cinnamon chips. I would kill for a good copycat recipe, but I've yet to find one that produces THAT scone.

[Lucinda]

6. Have you seen this recipe?

http://www.recipezaar.com/Cinnamon-Chip-Scones-182783

[sazemisery]

9. Cinnamon Chip scones are my favorite.

Dunked in your coffee. Yumm.

[Shakespeare]

10. Yep--I've made that one before.

I don't know what kind of cinnamon chips Au Bon Pain uses, but they're radically different (and tiny little things) compared to what we can get at the supermarket.

It's not the same, but it IS still a pretty good recipe. :hi:

[hippywife]

12. The ones I bought that time

for oatmeal cookies are really tiny. I think they are just Hersheys.

[Lucinda]

14. These minichips look sooooo good!

http://www.kingarthurflour.com/shop/detail.jsp?select=C78&byCategory=C124&id=1604

[Tesha]

7. Scones can be wonderful....

use very cold butter, mix leaving little pieces of butter still whole, mix as little as possible and handle gently...

There WAS the best video on it- but it looks like a mistake - Bittman at the Tartine

http://travel.nytimes.com/2007/01/28/travel/28Bite.html?ref=travel



on edit
ah, found the video...

http://video.nytimes.com/video/2007/01/23/travel/1194817116725/bites-in-san-francisco.html?scp=1&sq=bittman%20scone&st=cse

[MagickMuffin]

8. I make my own they're not hard to do, and they aren't that dry

2 cups flour
1/4 cup sugar
!/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick of cold butter
2/3 half & half
Egg mixture for brushing tops
1 beaten egg
1 Tablespoon milk

I use my food processor (using the bread dough blade) for the whole process.

Add all dry ingredients together and pulse, cut butter into cubes add to dry ingredients and pulse until crumbly, add milk until everything comes together in a ball. Done.

Knead a few times on floured surface (I use the parchment on the cookie sheet, pat into a round circle 1/2" thick, cut into 8 wedges, seperate and move to a location on the cookie sheet. Brush with 1 egg and milk mixture, sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon.

Bake in 400˚ preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes until golden brown. Transfer to wire rack to cool, however, I don't wait I eat one right away.


These are very tender scones. Not dry like I've had at pastry shops.



Link for Blueberry Scones

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=236x58745

[grasswire]

13. 40 percent butterfat heavy cream

That's what my family member uses to make them at his coffee house, and they are considered the best in town. It's the heavy, heavy cream. Plus they are thoroughly chilled when they actually go into the oven. Maybe that helps, too.

[eleny]

16. a stick of butter - *swoon*