Moist yet crumbly, crazy delicious and easier to make than any scone EVER!! My Innkeeper friend Janet shared this recipe with me decades ago when I, also an innkeeper, complained about complicated scone recipes (“cut in extremely cold butter…”) that STILL tasted dry and miserable. Bless her forever!
These are soooooo good and come together in a flash.
It’s not required to have these dandy cast iron scone pans, because you can easily cut the scones into shape. But the pans are inexpensive and your scones will brown up evenly, perfectly. They provide a lovely presentation. You should have them!
I have tried several kinds of dried fruit and the most popular is dried cherries, but any kind that you like will work.
Here’s the easy recipe:
2 cups flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup dried fruit, chopped if necessary to the size of raisins
1 1/4 cup heavy cream
1 Tablespoon melted butter
Preheat oven to 425°.
Measure dry ingredients and mix together in a bowl with a fork. Add the dried fruit and mix so that the fruit doesn’t stick together.
Add the cream and mix until a dough forms. Gather dough together in the bowl and turn out onto a work surface that has been dusted with flour. Knead 8-10 times until dough holds together.
If you are hand cutting the dough into scones, pat it into a 10” circle and brush the top with melted butter.
Cut dough into 12 triangles and place on buttered sheet pan or parchment paper.
If using a pan, butter the pan first, then distribute dough evenly and top with melted butter at the finish.
I like to sprinkle the top with sparkling sugar, which gives an extra sweetness and shine.
Bake for 15 minutes until just golden. Transfer to a cooling rack.
I got this recipe from the previous owners of our Inn! I’ve adapted it and use just a 1/4 tsp of salt (I cook low-sodium). I usually use less fruit, and just pat the tops with cream and then sprinkle sugar (instead of the butter). I make many different variations and add spices to the dry and/or extracts to the cream: fresh blueberries or frozen (rinsed) blueberries with lemon extract, topped with sugar; frozen cranberries and orange extract (the berries thaw enough to be cut); diced crystallized ginger and cinnamon, topped with cinnamon sugar; dried sweet cherries with cherry, almond and vanilla extracts. I don’t have the cast iron pans, so I cut them into smaller triangles and cook on…