Raisin Scones To Move By

AUGUST 16TH, 2009  |  23 COMMENTS

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Disclaimer: If you’re a landlord, you may want to shield your eyes from the next paragraph.

Scott and I, being apartment renters, were able to squeeze some benefit out of the current economic recession. Much to our delight, apartment prices in the New York area have dropped just enough to make relocating worthwhile. I admit I wasn’t eager to pack up my long forgotten Long Johns but rationalized that it was all worth it, as I shoved another shoe tree into a box. If the savings could afford us an extra dinner out here and there, then move I would.

Obviously, it didn’t make sense to buy groceries when most of my kitchenware was already stashed, but I also wasn’t willing to pay $7 for a breakfast sandwich on the way to work. So I dug out a bowl and a sheet pan and mixed up this quick batch of scones to bake and freeze. Every morning we pulled a couple of these out, let them defrost on the counter while we got ready, and warmed them for 30 seconds in the microwave. Then we made a picnic on top of the stacked boxes, with a side of  jam and coffee. At first glance it may seem we were living like paupers, but rest assured, those mornings we were kings. These scones made us feel like luxury was in the air. We’d sit there, asses on cardboard, breaking off flaky, buttery bites, and leisurely sipping our drinks with pinkies high up in the air.

In a way these scones ARE related to luxury. It so happens, when I was employed by a lovely 4-star hotel on the Upper East Side, we’d serve them to the ladies-who-tea (when they are not ladies-who-lunch). Tea service was quite popular. Each afternoon, the dining room buzzed with very prim, well-coiffed, pulled to perfection, leg-crossing, Chanel wearing ladies and they adored (say this word with a shrill) the scones. Sometimes they’d break all protocol, and, gasp!, ask for a few more. Carbs be damned!

I say, if these scones are good enough for the crowd that has everything, they are certainly good enough for me.

***
About Tools (man, do I love kitchen tools!)
I find it hard to bake without getting my hands into the dough, especially when not using electrical helpers, like Kitchenaids, but when making doughs where the butter needs to stay cold (other than this scone dough, pie doughs, tart doughs), it’s best to not touch the dough for as long as possible. The heat of the hands melts the butter that much faster. In those instances I find it helpful to cut the butter in with a pastry cutter first. Something like this:

Pastry Cutter with Comfort Grip

And if you notice the photo where I cut up the scone dough, I used a butter knife, but would have preferred:

Bench Scraper – Soft grip

I searched high and low for in the mess of boxes,. It cuts doughs perfectly, and scrapes dough off a table, but for the life of me couldn’t find it. Somewhere…

Raisin Scones
makes 12 generous scones

4 1/3 cups (620g) all purpose flour
1/4 cup (56g) sugar
3 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon (38g) baking powder
1/2 teaspoon (5 g) salt
1 1/2 sticks (170 g) butter, cut up into small pieces and kept cold
2 cups (473 mL) heavy cream (Yes, heavy cream. Don’t argue. It’s worth it.)
1 cup raisins (I like golden)

For the egg wash: 
1 egg
1 tablespoon milk

Turbinado sugar, for sprinkling, optional

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Here are the main players:

2. Grab a large bowl, and throw in flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.

Stir it up.

3. Toss in the bits of butter and cut in using a handy-dandy pastry cutter.

Cut it into the flour until it’s looks coarse and shaggy. Most of the butter should be rice sized but a few pea-sized bits remain. These butter pieces get trapped in the dough and create flaky layers when they melt away in the oven.

4. Pour in the heavy cream…

… and start working into the dough.

5. Because I try to avoid overmixing a dough wherever possible, I add the raisins when it’s only partially together.

As usual, it’s easier to work it together with your hands. Knead the shaggy mess, grabbing the pieces that fall to the bottom of the bowl.

All ready.

6. On a lightly floured surface, shape your dough into a rectangle, about 1.5″ high.

I cut them into 12 pieces, as evenly as my shaky, hungover hand would allow. (Here’s where I wish I had that pastry cutter.)

7. Make the egg wash: grab a small bowl, and crack the egg into it. Add the milk. Whisk it up with a fork.

8. Lay the scones out onto a parchment-lined baking sheet, and brush each one with the egg wash.

This makes the scones purdy and golden.

Sprinkle some turbinado sugar on top. Or not.

9. Bake in that preheated 400 degree oven. Mine took about 27 minutes. Could take 25-35 minutes.

As I always say, don’t go by time, go by look, feel and color. Are the tops deeply golden? Are the bottoms browned? Lift one up with a kitchen towel and look at the butt.

All baked and coolin’.