English Scones

By Nancy Caivano

English Scones

Makes 12 scones

This recipe appeared in The All Around the World Cookbook by Sheila Lukins, published by William Morrow, 1994 and reprinted here by permission from the publisher.

Ingredients:

2 cups all purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
3 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1 stick unsalted butter, chilled and cut into cubes
1 large egg
About 1/2 cup milk
3/4 cup dried currants or raisins
(I also like to use dried
sour cherries; they're fantastic here)

Method:

Place the flour, baking powder, sugar, salt and nutmeg in a food processor and pulse on and off to combine the ingredients. Add the cold butter and pulse 15 to 20 times until the mixture resembles a coarse meal.

Break the egg into a small bowl and whisk lightly. Pour half the egg into a 1/2 cup measure and fill to the top with milk. Pour the liquid over the flour mixture and process for about 10 seconds until the dough forms large curds. Scrape the dough onto a lightly floured work surface.

Quickly and gently knead in the currants. Pat or roll the dough 1/2" thick. Cut into 2 1/4" rounds with a biscuit cutter (or cookie cutter or glass with roughly that diameter). Gently re-roll scraps and continue to cut all the dough. Place the scones on ungreased baking sheets and chill for 15 minutes. (The scones can be covered and refrigerated at this point for as long as overnight).

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Add 1 tbsp milk to the remaining half egg and brush over the tops of the scones with a pastry brush. Bake until the tops are lightly browned, about 15 minutes. Cool on wire racks for at least 10 minutes before serving.

The scones are great warm with jam, honey or cream.