Florence’s Scones

Have you ever met or known an elderly person and thought, “I want to be like you when I grow up”.  That was my Grandma Florence for me. First, her name was Florence…enough said. She was this petite little woman with the cutest sense of style, even into her 90’s! She was go-go-go all the time and had such a tender way about her, especially towards her grandkids. Some of the best things she passed on to us were her recipes, especially for breakfast foods! Danish Æbelskiver was one of her specialties, which my dad has taken on and will make for special occasions, like Christmas morning. She also made some of the best scones. They’re not what you may think of when you think of a scone – like a dense, probably dry, sweetened biscuit. Her scones are a soft, moist, delicious little triangle of goodness.

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup white sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

Raisins or dried fruit of your choice (optional)

1 egg cracked into a 1 cup measuring cup, then filled with buttermilk*

(it comes out to about 3/4 cup of buttermilk)

*substitute for buttermilk: 1 tablespoon of lemon juice in 1 cup of milk, let stand for 5 minutes

1. Mix flour, sugar, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt in a bowl.

2. Cut in softened butter with a fork (or pastry cutter), until dough is crumbly.

3. Add egg and buttermilk and stir well.

4. If adding dried (or fresh – I just haven’t tried that yet!) fruit, stir in.

5. Take about half of the dough and form into a circle on a very well-floured surface. With your hands, pat down the circle until it’s about 1/2″ thick. Dough is very sticky, don’t be afraid to use more flour when forming your circle!

6. Cut the circle into pie shapes (like you’re cutting a pizza), there will be about 6 per circle.

7. Cook on an ungreased electric griddle warmed to 300º-325ºF (I did mine at 300º on my brand new pan).

8. When slightly browned on both sides, stand the scones along the side of the pan to brown the edges. They will take about 5-7 minutes to cook, depending on your temperature. They shouldn’t cook too fast (it’s similar to cooking pancakes), so adjust your temperature as needed.

Serve warm with butter or your favorite jam! They will keep for a couple days, but good luck not eating them all in one sitting 😉 I make half of the batch plain for me, and half with dried cranberries for my husband. One batch yields 12 scones.