Batter Bakery’s Fig, Honey & Goat Cheese Scones

Makes 12 large scones

The secret to Jen Musty’s scones: Instead of mixing together all the ingredients at once, she alternates layers of her buttery-rich dough with whatever seasonal fillings strike her fancy. This could mean strawberries in the spring, persimmons in the fall, or this shoulderseason variation featuring ripe Mission figs, goat cheese and honey. Once portioned, the scone dough will keep frozen for up to 1 month.

Scone dough

5½ cups all-purpose flour

¾ cup cornmeal

½ cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons

baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

1½ teaspoons kosher salt

1½ cups (3 sticks) cold unsalted

butter, cut into ½-inch cubes

2½ cups cold cream

To assemble

1 pound goat cheese, crumbled

12 ripe black mission figs (about 12 ounces), stems removed and sliced

½ cup honey

To make the dough: Combine the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Briefly mix at low speed to evenly distribute the ingredients. Add the butter pieces and mix on low speed until they are no larger than peas, about 4 minutes.

With the mixer still on low, stream the cream into the bowl just until the dough pulls together. (Be very careful not to over-mix! Any remaining dry ingredients can be incorporated by hand, so as not to overwork the dough.)

Gather the dough into one mass and turn out onto a parchment-lined work surface. Divide the dough into 3 sections.

Gently pat each section of dough into a rectangle, approximately 12 inches by 6 inches and ½-inch thick.

Add texture to each layer using your fingertips, making small indentations for the fruit.

To assemble the scones: Evenly distribute half of the goat cheese across the bottom layer of dough. Arrange half of the fig slices on top of the goat cheese, and drizzle with half of the honey.

Gently place second layer of dough on top. Distribute the remaining goat cheese evenly across this second layer of dough, followed by the remaining figs and honey. Top with the final third of dough. Tuck in any loose edges, forming a clean rectangle, and refrigerate the dough for at least 15 minutes and up to 1 hour.

Using a bench scraper or knife, portion dough into 12 roughly even scones, about 2 inches by 3 inches each. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet, wrap tightly and freeze 1 hour or overnight. When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Remove the dough from the freezer. Line a second baking sheet with parchment. Divide the scones between the two baking sheets, spacing them about 2 inches apart. Bake until golden brown and center is no longer doughy, approximately 45 to 50 minutes. (Since the fillings are so gooey, an internal thermometer is handy for testing the dough for doneness. Remove when internal temperature of the scones reaches 210 degrees.) Serve warm.

Sliced figs drizzled with honey add a sweet note to scones.