Scones

Three months. That’s how long it’s been since I last posted. Three months!!

I’m so sorry, I don’t even know where the time went. I was still cooking, don’t worry about that. But I was cooking just for fun, (which is one of the best ways to cook, right?) While I love writing a food blog, each post takes a lot of effort to prepare, photograph, edit, write, edit some more, and then post everywhere. And I love doing it for y’all, I really do. I love hearing how you’ve tried my recipes and loved them (or hated them).

But sometimes, I think about the amount of work that will be involved, and I just pour myself a big glass of wine and think, “Nope, that’s not going to happen.”

So thank you for being patient with me while a took a little bit of a break. And to show my thankfulness, today I’m bringing you a recipe for some yummy (but easy!) scones.

Now, there are two different types of scones. There are more crumbly and dense scones, and then there are cake-like scones. If you’re a fan of the denser scones, these probably aren’t for you, because these are definitely more fluffy and on the cake-like side.

My friend Leanne is awesome at making scones, and has even posted her recipe here. She brings them into work regularly and they’re always a huge hit. I’ve always wanted to learn to make them, but as long as Leanne was bringing them for me, I had no reason to. My laziness was at its prime.

But then I had another baby and went on maternity leave. And there were no more work deliveries of scones. I was faced with a dilemma: bribe Leanne to deliver them to my door, or learn to make them myself.

I tried a couple different recipes, including Leanne’s. I found them all just a bit too much work for me, and I never plan ahead enough to refrigerate my dough. I wanted to find a recipe that was easy and versatile. After a few tries and changes, I ended up with this.

The sour cream and baking soda work some kind of miracle together, and the dough all comes together beautifully. I’ve made a few variations to these: cinnamon raisin, lemon poppyseed, and cheesy ham and onion. You can find the amounts for the additions in the notes below the recipe.

Print Recipe

Scones

Servings: 16 servings

Author: The Gourmet Housewife

Ingredients

• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 cup butter softened
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 4 cups flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
• 1 tsp salt

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a large baking sheet.
• In a small mixing bowl, stir together sour cream and baking soda. Set aside.
• In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
• In a small bowl, beat together egg and vanilla and beat into butter/sugar mixture. Stir in sour cream mixture.
• In a large bowl, mix together remaining dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, cream of tartar and salt. Add to wet ingredients and stir until just moistened.
• Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and need for 2 to 3 minutes, until dough comes together. Pat dough out into a circle 3/4" thick. Cut into 16 wedges and place them on prepared baking sheet.
• Bake for 12 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven until the bottoms are golden brown.

Notes

Cinnamon raisin:
Add 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon and 1 cup raisins

Lemon poppyseed:
Add 1/2-1 tsp lemon extract or zest from 2 lemons and 1 1/2 tbsp poppyseed

Cheesy ham and onion:
Reduce sugar to 1/4 cup and omit vanilla. Add 3/4-1 cup chopped cooked ham, 1/2-3/4 cup chopped green onion and 1/2-3/4 cup grated Cheddar.