MADE: Scones!

I figured that since I'd finally put up the Apple Cheddar Scones--I'm still shocked about that glaring omission, by the dubs--that I'd fess up to my deeper love of scones in any variety. For a while in undergrad, my House raised money for charity by selling coffee and baked goods in the morning. I frequently volunteered to help sell the goodies, which entailed getting up at six thirty and dragging myself down to the lobby of my dorm. As I stumbled down the last few steps, I'd invariably be greeted by the dueling aromas of coffee and scones, and by the preternaturally happy visage of my dear friend Klara, the magnificent baker of said scones.

Klara was (and still is) a marvel and an inspiration. At six thirty on a Tuesday morning, she could reach levels of  happiness than some people don't achieve in their entire lives. And she was constantly spreading that happiness to others--through laughter, through volunteer work, through dancing and singing, and--probably most importantly--through scones.

Now, whenever I make or eat a scone, I can't help but think of Klara and get a tiny bit infected by her sunniness all over again.

Klara's Scones
2 1/4 cups flour
Pinch o' salt
1/3 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
6 tbsp cold butter, cut into cubes
1 cup cream
Fillers--these can be berries, baked apples, chocolate chips, or even chunks of caramel candies (that was such a good morning!)

Preheat oven to 425 F.
Combine dry ingredients and whisk together. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in cream, kneading together by hand. Add in filler ingredients and knead into a ball, then roll out the ball onto a floured surface and press down to create a circle of dough about a half inch thick. Cut the dough circle into wedges and place onto a greased baking sheet, about 1" apart. Sprinkle with sugar, if desired.
Bake for about 15 minutes, or until just hard and slightly golden.
"Consume and be Merry!"--Klara

For my roommate's birthday, I made these with blackberries as a breakfast surprise. It went over well, if I do say so myself.

The picture is the scones in progress, obviously. The finished products themselves were devoured before photographic evidence could be obtained.

CURRENT OBSESSION: Apple Cheddar Scones

Woah woah WOAH Woah woah. Upon looking through my old posts to spruce them up with pictures--now that I FINALLY have all the relevant bits of gadgetry necessary to create, transfer, convert, and upload photographic evidence of my foodery--I have discovered that I NEVER MANAGED TO PUT UP THE APPLE CHEDDAR SCONE RECIPE.

Major. Fail.

If you've so much as brushed past my internet presence in the past three months you've probably heard me rave about these scones. If you've been in my actual presence, it's quite possible that I've baked them for you. (Really, it's less generosity and more a realization of the overwhelming guilt that ensues when one consumes an entire batch of scones in one sitting. Not that that's ever happened...)

The amazing Smitten Kitchen introduced me to them, of course, and I made my own little tweaks. SK calls them "October on a parchment-lined baking sheet," but I've been making them since waay past October, and I've never lined my baking sheets with parchment. Both choices have turned out pretty okay for me.*

Apple Cheddar Scones (Will Haunt You Forever)
2 firm apples (I used Galas most of the time, but that's just because they were around), cored, peeled, and chopped into small chunks
1 1/2 cups flour
1/4 cup white sugar
2 tsp brown sugar
1/2 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
6 tbsp butter, chilled and cut into 1/2 tbsp cubes
1/2 cup sharp cheddar, shredded
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 large eggs

Preheat oven to 375 F.
Core and peel the apples, then chop them into smallish chunks. The original recipe called for them to be in 1/16ths, but those chunks seemed huge, and just had to be chopped down later. (Also, the smallish chunks cook faster. Bonus when you're really hungry for some sconey goodness.) Spread apple chunks evenly on a baking sheet and bake at the center of the oven for about 15 minutes, until dry to the touch and just beginning to turn goldeny brown. Remove from oven and cool completely, leaving oven on--if you're going to make the scones right away, that is. Turn it off otherwise. Sheesh.

Baked Apple Chunks--Health food, right?

Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
With a pastry blender, cut in the cubes of chilled butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Beat in cream and one egg until just combined. Mix in the shredded cheese as well.

Chop up the apple chunks a bit more until you'd feel comfortable encountering them in a scone, then mix the chunks in as well. You should have a delightful, sticky mess on your hands, just forming a ball. Toss that onto a floured surface and flatten slightly, until you've formed a circle about 1" thick and 8" in diameter. Slice the circle into six wedges--or eight, if you're feeling generous. Place dough wedges onto greased baking sheets, leaving about 2" between them for spreading.
For an egg wash (which is optional, but quite tasty), beat together the remaining egg and a pinch of salt. Spread the mixture over the top of each scone. Sprinkle each washed scone with sugar. Or, if it's Christmas Eve morning, sprinkle them with sugar and Christmas sprinkles! Bake for about 30 minutes, until the scones are nice and golden. Then DEVOUR. Also share. You might as well get as many people to understand the addiction as possible...

If you are keeping them to yourself, though, freezing several of the dough wedges is a good idea--the scones are really best when eaten immediately, and it's great to have scones ready-for-baking in the freezer on a bleary morning...

*In case you're wondering, though, ovens get really angry at you if you try to substitute wax paper for parchment. It wasn't for this recipe--don't worry--but every mention of parchment paper in cooking makes me flash back to that experience. Eeesch, the smell...