English Scones

My youngest daughter has been asking me to make scones for breakfast for several days now. She's wanting the American / Mexican variety also know as Indian Fry Bread, Fried Scones or Sopapillas. However, I don't want to deal with the greasy mess frying up scones produces, so I opted for the English variety. This type of scone is more closely related to a biscuit (and in fact uses the biscuit method to mix) and in England is commonly found during tea time served with Clotted Cream or Jam.

We used to offer these on our catering menu and they were a big hit. Back then we could produce several hundred at a time for a large gathering, and so, we would buy them pre-made (but uncooked) and bake them as needed. So, of truth, I've never made these from scratch. But like many things we as a society now buy in a box or jar, they are actually very easy to make, taste better and take just about as much time and effort as the boxed mixes.

English Scones

Yield: 1 Doz Scones

Prep time 15 Minutes, Baking time 10-15 Minutes, Total time 25-30 Minutes

Ingredients

2 cups All-Purpose Flour

2 Tbsp Baking Powder

1 pinch Salt

1/4 cup Butter (1 stick), cubed and cold

2 Tbsp Sugar

1/2 cups Milk

2 Tbsp Milk (for brushing the scones).

Directions

Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees F and Line a Baking sheet with parchment paper

1) Sift flour, baking powder, and salt into a bowl

2) Cut in the butter until it resembles fine breadcrumbs (Biscuit Method)

3) Stir in the sugar and enough milk to mix to a soft dough

4) Turn onto a floured surface, knead lightly (don't over knead or they won't rise or be flaky) and roll out to a 3/4 inch thickness.

5) Cut into 2 inch rounds, triangles or squares and place on prepared baking sheet.

6) Brush with milk to glaze.

7) Bake at 425 for 10-15 minutes than cool on a wire rack.

Serve with butter, clotted cream or jam.

Note: Feel free to add your favorite spices and fold in your favorite indredients like Orange Zest, Strawberries (dried work great), Apples and Walnuts, Chocolate Chips, Blueberries, Raisins, or Cranberries.

Enjoy

Pictured: Cranberry Walnut Scone, courtesy AnjasFood4Thought.com

My favorite thing about the modern crock pot is that once all the ingredients are thrown together and it has been turned on, you can walk away and slowly the sacred vessel turns that hodge podge of simple ingredients into something truly special. Many a time I've left the crock pot to the muses of time only to come home to the wonderful smells wafting throughout the house with a promise of a gourmet meal waiting at the appointed time.

Today's dinner is a bastion of homemade goodness transporting one back to a simpler time and stems from my southern roots on the farm. (Ok, so I'm not really from the South and I've never lived on a farm, but I did live in the Virginia / North Carolina area for two years and I have ancestors that were gentleman farmers in Kentucky).

Southern Style Chicken & Dumplings

2 lbs, boneless, skinless chicken (breasts and/or thighs)

6 cups chicken stock (can be quickly made with chicken base (or bouillon) and water)

6 carrots, peeled and sliced

3 med. potatoes, peeled and diced

3 stalks celery, chopped

1 medium onion, quartered

2 tsp parsley, chopped

1 tsp. poultry seasoning

Salt and Pepper to taste

Biscuit Topping (see below)

Roux as needed to thicken (See post on Roux if you don't know about this wonderful thickener).

Peas can be added if desired at the end. (optional)

Place all ingredients in crock pot except Biscuit Topping and Roux. Cook on high for 4-5 hours or low for 7-8 hours. Prepare Biscuit Topping and spoon over chicken mixture. Thicken with roux until desired consistency (caution, this will continue to thicken slightly as it cook). Tilt lid to vent steam and cook on high for 30 minutes or until biscuits are cooked in the center (caution #2 biscuits will also thicken sauce).

Biscuit Topping:

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

2 Tbsp sugar

1/2 cup butter or shortening (cut in until coarse and crumbly)

2/3 cup cold milk (add and stir until completely moist)