This is the long-awaited ginger version of the English cream scones that I made a couple years back.

In the original version, I swapped out the heavy cream for half-and-half. This time, I stepped it all they way down to whole milk. They were still plenty rich! So I don't think the "cream" part of these cream scones is really necessary. Honestly, they'd probably be fine with slightly less butter too. I made a double batch and used ~240g of butter this time around, but I'd be tempted to try it with slightly less -- maybe 200g -- next time.
I also swapped out the egg wash and sugar topping with a light lemon glaze. Mostly because I didn't want to burn a whole egg just to brush a handfull of scones, but also because I thought the lemon would go nicely with the ginger. I'm very happy with how it worked out!

Photo goes here.

Ginger Scones

Slightly adapted from The Breakfast Bible by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

Scones

• 4 c. (~500g) soft (plain/standard/cake) flour
• 6 Tbsp. sugar
• 5 tsp. baking powder
• 200g salted butter, cold
• 1 c. crystallized ginger, chopped
• 2 c. milk

Glaze

• 1/2 c. icing (powdered/confectioners') sugar
• 1/2-1 tsp. lemon zest
• 3-4 tsp. milk

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F).
2. Combine the flour and sugar and sift in the baking powder. Mix well.
3. Cut in the butter.
4. Mix in the ginger.
5. Pour in the milk and stir until just combined.
6. Turn out onto a well-floured surface and fold/knead very briefly (3-4 strokes), until dough holds together.
7. Pat into a flat sheet about 3cm thick.
8. Use a floured glass or biscuit cutter to cut out scones of desired size (5-8cm works well).
9. Place on a baking sheet and bake at 200°C (400°F) for 15-20 minutes.
10. Meanwhile, gather up the scraps, briefly knead/fold together, and cut out more scones.
11. Combine the sugar and lemon zest for the glaze.
12. Stir in milk until desired consistency is achieved.
13. Once scones are cooked through and nicely brown on top, remove from oven and brush liberally with glaze.

I was asked to bring some biscuits or scones to the Mother's Day festivities this year. (Yes, I know. This post is very late. I made these back in May. I've just been bad at actually getting around to the write-ups.) I did make some plain drop biscuits, but I thought it would be nice to make a second variety as well. The plain ones are great for toppin and enjoying with cream and jam, but the flavoured ones can be nice to have just on their own (or maybe with a bit of butter). Both were appreciated.

Photo goes here.

Chocolate-Orange Scones

Slightly adapted from The Big Book of Breakfast by Maryana Vollstedt

Ingredients

• 250g flour
• 1 Tbsp. baking powder
• 1/4 c. sugar
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 6 Tbsp. butter
• 1/2 c. chocolate chips (or chopped chocolate)
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 c. milk
• 1 Tbsp. orange zest

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 220°C (425°F).
2. Sift the baking powder into the flour.
3. Add the sugar and salt and stir to combine.
4. Cut in the butter.
5. Mix in the chocolate chips.
6. Beat the egg with the milk and orange zest.
7. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix with a fork.
8. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for a few seconds.
9. Pat dough into a 20cm (8") round.
10. Cut into 8 equal wedges.
11. Transfer scones to baking sheet and bake until done (~12 minutes).

Cranberry Scones (Big Book of Breakfast)

I tried out a few different scone recipes while I was in NZ. But, as with so many of the things I made while I was over there, I didn't get around to writing it up before I left. I've been doing my best to catch up since then, but it's been slow going. I think I still have about four dozen left in the backlog. So, I'm not sure I'll actually manage to catch up before the end of the year at this point, but as least I've put a dent in it.

Cranberry Scones

Slightly adapted from The Big Book of Breakfast by Maryana Vollstedt

Ingredients

• 250g flour
• 1/4 c. sugar
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 c. salted butter
• 3/4 c. dried cranberries
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 c. buttermilk

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 220°C (425°F).
2. Combine flour and sugar and sift in the baking powder and baking soda.
3. Cut in the butter.
4. Mix in the cranberries.
5. Beat the egg with the buttermilk.
6. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix with a fork until a dough forms.
7. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for a few strokes.
8. Press into a 20cm (8") round.
9. Sprinkle with a little extra sugar.
10. Cut into eight wedges and transfer to a baking sheet.
11. Bake at 220°C (425°F) until just slightly browned (~12 minutes).

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Variations

Apricot Scones

Ingredients

• 250g flour
• 1/4 c. sugar
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 c. salted butter
• 3/4 c. chopped dried apricots
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 c. buttermilk

Date Scones

• 250g flour
• 1/4 c. sugar
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 c. salted butter
• 3/4 c. chopped dates
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 c. buttermilk

Reiver needed to take a plate to the office the other day. So, of course, I viewed this as an idea opportunity to try out yet another feijoa recipe.

These were lovely little socnes. And because the jam was just a "quick jam" thickened with chia seeds, it didn't require the normal amount of sugar and came out not-too-sweet and deliciously fruity! The low-sugar nature of it means that the jam won't keep the way a traditional jam will. But as long as you eat it relatively quickly, it makes for a delicious (and relatively healthy) way to use up a few feijoas.

Photo goes here.

Feijoa-Ginger Scones with Quick Feijoa-Strawberry Jam

Slightly adapted from NZ Woman's Weekly

Ingredients

Scones

• 375g soft (plain/standard/cake) flour
• 2 3/4 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 Tbsp. ginger
• 1/4 c. sugar
• 50g butter
• 3-4 feijoas
• 3/4 c. buttermilk
• 0-2 Tbsp. milk

Jam

• 250g feijoa pulp
• 1 c. frozen strawberries
• 2 Tbsp. maple syrup
• 2 Tbsp. chia seeds
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions

Scones

1. Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F).
2. Sift together flour, baking powder, and ginger.
3. Add sugar and stir to mix.
4. Cut in the butter.
5. Scoop and chop the feijoas.
6. Stir in the feijoas and the buttermilk.
7. Mix to form a shaggy dough. If the dough won't quite come together, add a little milk until it does.
8. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and pat into a disc ~2-3cm thick.
9. Fold the dough into quarters and press flat again.
10. Use a biscuit cutter of your preferred size to cut out your scones and place them on a baking sheet.
11. Combine the scraps, press flat, and cut out a few more scones. Repeat until you can't make any more scones.
12. Bake at 200°C (400°F) until cooked through and just starting to colour on the outside (~15 minutes).

Jam

1. Combine the feijoas, strawberries, and maple syrup and cook over medium heat until very soft.
2. Remove from heat, purée, and stir in the chia seeds and vanilla.
3. Pour into a jar and allow to cool.

Assembly

1. Split scones and serve topped with whipped cream and jam.

I usually make shaped scones and biscuits. But I was low on both time and counter space yesterday, so I decided to give these simple "drop scones" a try. The dough is very quick to toss together and then all it needs is for mounds of it to be spooned onto the baking sheet and a few minutes in the oven and you have nearly-instant scones!

The original recipe calls for a bit of sugar, but I decided to roll with an erythritol-based sweetener in order to make them sugar-free. Either one works fine. I also opted to omit the salt from the recipe and just use salted butter instead of the unsalted that the recipe called for. And, since I'm in NZ right now, I swapped out the all-purpose (moderate-protein) flour for plain (soft/low-protein) flour. In other cases, I might use "high grade" (hard/high-protein) flour as a closer equivalent to the all-purpose, but in the case of scones and biscuits, where you don't really want or need the gluten development anyway, I felt like soft flour would be the better choice.

Blueberry Drop Scones

Slightly adapted from The Big Book of Breakfast by Maryana Vollstedt

Ingredients

• 250g soft (plain/standard/cake) flour
• 1/4 sugar¹
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 85g salted butter
• 1 c. fresh or frozen blueberries (thawed if frozen)
• 1 large egg
• 3/4 c. milk

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 220°C (425°F).
2. Combine the flour and sugar.
3. Sift in baking powder and mix well.
4. Cut in the butter until blended.
5. Add the blueberries and toss to combine.
6. Beat the egg into the milk and then add the wet ingredients to the dry. Mix with a fork until just combined.
7. Spoon mounds of the dough onto a baking sheet. You should get ~12 scones.
8. Optionally sprinkle the top of each scone with a little extra sugar.
9. Bake at 220°C (425°F) until cooked through and just starting to brown (~12 minutes).
10. Transfer to wire rack to cool.

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¹ Feel free to swap this out for a sugar-free sweetener of your choice. Just make sure that you adjust the amount accordingly if it's not a 1:1 substitute. ^Back

I forgot to take photos of these! They were so cute. And now they are all gone. Whoops!

Oh well... They just looked like a pretty standard, plain, flaky biscuit. I just wish I'd remembered to photograph them. They were nice. Fairly plain, but soft, buttery, and not too sweet, with just a hint of citrus from the lemon zest in them. Really lovely.

Lemon-Scented Biscuits

Slightly adapted from The Big Book of Breakfast by Maryana Vollstedt

Ingredients

• 250g soft (plain/standard/cake) flour
• 1 Tbsp. baking powder
• 1 Tbsp. sugar
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt¹, ground (optional)
• 1/2 Tbsp. lemon zest²
• 70g butter
• 3/4 c. half-and-half (10% MF)³

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 230°C (450°F).
2. Sift the baking powder in to the flour.
3. Add the sugar, salt (if using), and lemon zest and mix well.
4. Cut butter into dry ingredients until blended.
5. Add half-and-half and stir until just mixed.
6. Turn out onto a well-floured surface and press into a round 2-3cm thick.
7. Fold in quarters and press flat again. Repeat 2-3 more times.
8. Use a biscuit cutter or drinking glass to cut into 5-6cm circles. (You should get about a dozen.)
9. Place on an ungreased baking sheet.
10. If desired, brush with a little milk and sprinkle with sugar.³
11. Bake until just starting to colour on top (~12 minutes).

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¹ If using salted butter, omit the salt here. If using unsalted butter, you may wish to add a small amount of salt. They don't need much, but a little pinch can be nice. ^Back
2 The original recipe only calls for 1 tsp. of lemon zest and that's what I used this time, but I think it would've been nice with a bit more, so I've upped it slightly here. ^Back
3 I usually mix my own half-and-half by combining whipping (35%) cream and milk. For this one, I decided to go a little light on the cream and heavy on the milk: more of a 1/3-to-2/3 than 1/2-and-1/2. ^Back
4 The original recipe didn't call for this step and I didn't do it this time around. But, having tasted them, I think they'd be quite nice with a little sprinkle of sugar on top. ^Back

Just a quick write-up because I'm tired and have approximately 10000 things to do today. These are really good, but the dough was too dry. I had to add more milk. I've adjusted a bit below, but you may find you need more or less. Use your judgement.

Sourdough Scones

From Baking Sense

Ingredients

• 630g soft (cake/plain/standard) flour
• 2 Tbap. baking powder
• 1/2 c. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 3/4 c. unsalted butter
• 1-1 1/4 c. buttermilk¹
• 1 c. (100% hydration) unfed sourdough starter
• 2-3 eggs²
• extra buttermilk & sugar for sprinkling

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 190°C (375°F).
2. Sift together flour and baking powder.
3. Mix in sugar and salt.
4. Cut in butter until mixture contains lumps no larger than a pea.
5. Combine buttermilk and starter.
6. Whisk eggs into buttermilk-starter mixture.
7. Pour wet ingredients into dry and stir until mostly combined.
8. Turn out onto lightly floured surface and mix/knead a little by hand to incorporate any remaining dry ingredinets.
9. Pat dough to a thickness of ~2cm.
10. Use a 6 or 7cm round cutter to cut out scones and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
11. Brush tops with additional buttermilk (or milk) and sprinkle with sugar.
12. Bake at 190°C (375°F) for 20 minutes.

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¹ The recipe only calls for 1c. of buttermilk, but I found I needed ~an extra 1/4 c. to get the dough to come together. That said, I was also using sour cream thinned with milk as a buttermilk substitute, so it's possible that affected my liquid balance. ^Back
2 The recipe only calls for two eggs, but mine were a little on the small side, so I used three. ^Back

Blueberry Scones

I don't do well with breakfast. I get bored easily. I'm also not a morning person, so I'm not generally interested in putting any effort into making a food first thing in the morning.

Milk and cereal are pretty much exclusively a camping food for me. Toast is boring. Porridge is good for a day or two, but then I want something else. Fry-ups are fatty and also way too much effort first thing in the morning most days. I tried making some "Carrot Cake Energy Bites". They were okay, but not great. I decided to keep perusing the breakfast ideas to see if anything else grabbed me. These scones seemed promising. I tweaked the recipe a little to use whole wheat flour, but otherwise left it pretty much alone.

Whole Wheat Blueberry Scones

Slightly adapted from Love and Lemons

Ingredients

• 330g whole what flour¹
• 1/2 c. sugar + 1 Tbsp. sugar, divided
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1/2 c. unsalted butter
• 1 c. frozen blueberries
• 3/4 c. heavy (35%) cream
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions

1. Combine flour, 1/2 c. sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and mix well.
2. Cut in butter.
3. Toss with blueberries.
4. Stir in cream, egg, and vanilla extract.
5. Turn out dough into a well-floured surface and shape into a disc 3-4cm thick.
6. Sprinkle top of disc with 1 Tbsp. sugar.
7. Cut disc into eight wedges and transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet.
8. Bake at 200°C (400°F) for 20 minutes.

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Variations

Vegan Whole Wheat Blueberry Scones

Ingredients

• 330g whole what flour
• 1/2 c. vegan sugar
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1/2 c. coconut oil
• 1 c. frozen blueberries
• 3/4 c. full fat coconut milk
• 1 flax egg
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

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¹ I used hard wheat for this. I think soft flour would be fine as well. ^Back

This is just the basic scone recipe out of Edmonds. Very simple and easy to put together and I really like the results. Nice and tender and buttery. They remind me of a slightly less flaky buttermilk biscuit.

The recipe calls for "butter" which, in NZ, generally means salted butter as far as I can tell. It also calls for an additional 1/4 tsp. of salt. I contemplated leaving the salt out since I was already using salted butter, but decided to do it recipe as written for now to see how they came out. The salt was definitely noticeable, but I actually quite liked it. That said, if I were to do one of the sweet variations in the future -- date scones, sultana scones, or ginger scones -- I definitely think I'd skip the extra salt. I might even leave it out for the cheese scone variation since the cheese itself will add extra salt. And, although I like the saltiness of the basic scones, I think that it would've been too much had I also been putting salted butter on them. Given that, I'd probably leave the salt out in future and just put a bit of salted butter on them if I wanted that extra hit of sodium.

Scones

From Edmonds Cookery Book

Ingredients

• 3 c. soft (plain/standard/cake) flour
• 5 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. salt (optional)
• 75g salted butter
• 1 1/4 c. milk
• extra milk, for glazing

Directions

1. Grease and flour a baking sheet.
2. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt (if using).
3. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse bread crumbs.
4. Pour in milk and quickly mix with a spatula or round-bladed knife until mixture is just wet. Do not over-mix or gluten will start to develop and make the scones tough.
5. Scrape dough onto baking sheet, flour top, and pat into a large rectangle about 2cm high.
6. Cut into 12 equal portions¹.
7. Separate the scones so that they each have a couple cm of space between them.
8. Brush the tops with milk.
9. Bake at 450°F (220°C) for 10 minutes.
10. Any scones that are not eaten immediately should be wrapped in a clean cloth to keep them soft.

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¹ I accidentally cut mine into 24 portions. They still baked up well and tasted great. They were just mini scones. ^Back