Apricot and Ginger Scones

Let's just say that I got my daily dose of fat and sugar all at one time today. Afternoon tea was pretty darn decadent! You can't go wrong with light fluffy scones, real butter, and apricot preserves. A pot of Lady Grey tea rounded out things nicely.  Honestly, just looking at this photo makes me want to open my trap for a big bite!

Dried apricots and candied ginger root made for good add-ins with my usual Dorset Scones dough.

Rustic little wedges baked to a golden shine and warm from the oven. I always wonder if I should make the flat circle of dough smaller (and hence, thicker). Would the scones bake up as nicely? Or would they overbrown because they needed to bake longer to finish the thicker cut ? Ideas ? Here's the recipe ... in case you need your own bit of tea time decadence.

Dorset Scones

Ingredients:

2 c. all purpose flour

3 tbsp. sugar

1 tbsp. baking powder

½ tsp. Kosher salt

½ tsp. nutmeg

1 packet of lemon infused sugar

1 stick cold butter ( ½ c.), cut into small cubes

1 egg

About ½ c. buttermilk

Fruit Add-Ins – a handful of dried currants, fresh blueberries, dried cranberries, candied ginger, spiced apples, raisins, dried mango, et cetera (a scant cup measure.)

Making the Scones:

1. Place the first six ingredients into the bowl of a food processor.
2. Whiz briefly to combine everything.
3. With the blade running, drop in the butter, a few clumps at a time. When the butter has made the dry ingredients, crumbly looking, turn off the processor .
4. Break the egg into a small bowl, beat it a bit.
5. Pour half the egg (reserve the other half for glaze) into a measuring cup and pour in enough buttermilk to bring the measure up to the ½ c. mark.
6. Turn on the food processor and drizzle the mixture in through the feed tube.
7. When the dough clumps up, turn off the processor.
8. Sprinkle some extra flour onto a nice cool rolling surface, turn out the dough and knead the dough quickly to incorporate any extra moisture and flour. Don’t knead more than five or six times.
9. Now sprinkle the ad-ins you’ve chosen over the dough and knead them in with about four or five more punches.
10. Shape the dough into a circle that is about ¾ inch thick. (sprinkle a bit more flour if you need to to keep the scone dough from sticking to the surface.
11. Cut the circle into 8 wedges.
12. Place on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet and chill the pan and the scones for 15 minutes.
13. Preheat the oven to 450° F
14. While the scones chill and the oven comes up to temp, add 1 tbsp milk to the remaining egg.
15. Brush the chilled scones with the egg wash, sprinkle on some some coarse sugar.
16. Bake for 15 minutes in the center of the hot oven.
17. Remove the scones from the pan right away when they have finished baking. Put them on a pretty platter and serve warm with soft butter and the jam of your choice.