Hartford Courant

We’re spilling the tea on one of our most popular recipes

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Want to know the secret to our delicious scone recipe? It’s all about the way you handle the ingredient­s.

Berry beginning: Toss the frozen berries in powdered sugar to keep from bleeding into the dough.

Second step: Treating the butter in two

MIXED BERRY SCONES

Makes: 8 scones

Note: Work the dough as little as possible, just until it comes together. Work quickly to keep the butter and berries as cold as possible for the best results. Note that the butter is divided in this recipe. An equal amount of frozen blueberrie­s, raspberrie­s, blackberri­es or strawberri­es (halved) can be used in place of the mixed berries.

For the scones:

1 ¾ cups (8 ¾ ounces) frozen mixed berries 3 tablespoon­s powdered sugar

3 cups (15 ounces) all-purpose flour 12 tablespoon­s unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch pieces, chilled

⅓ cup (2 ⅓ ounces) granulated sugar 1 tablespoon baking powder

1 ¼ teaspoon salt

¾ cup plus 2 tablespoon­s whole milk

1 large egg, plus 1 large yolk

For the glaze:

2 tablespoon­s unsalted butter, melted 1 tablespoon honey

For the scones:

1. Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. If your berry mix contains strawberri­es, cut them in half. Toss berries with powdered sugar in a bowl; freeze until needed.

2. Combine flour, 6 tablespoon­s butter, the granulated sugar, baking powder and salt in a food processor and process until butter different ways is the key to light and flaky scones.

First, process half the butter until it’s fully incorporat­ed into the dough. Then add the remaining cold butter and process until small clumps remain, creating pockets of steam as the scones bake.

A sweet end: A simple glaze of butter and honey adds a nice finish to the scones.

is fully incorporat­ed, about 15 seconds. Add remaining 6 tablespoon­s butter and pulse until butter is reduced to pea-size pieces, 10 to 12 pulses. Transfer mixture to a large bowl. Stir in berries.

3. Beat milk and egg and yolk together in a separate bowl. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour in the milk mixture. Using a rubber spatula, gently stir mixture, scraping from edges of bowl and folding inward until very shaggy dough forms and some bits of flour remain. Do not overmix.

4. Turn out dough onto a well-floured counter and, if necessary, knead briefly until dough just comes together, about 3 turns. Using your floured hands and bench scraper, shape dough into a 12-by-4-inch rectangle, about 1 ½ inches tall. Using a knife or bench scraper, cut dough crosswise into four equal rectangles. Cut each rectangle diagonally into two triangles (you should have eight scones total). Transfer scones to the prepared sheet. Bake until scones are lightly golden on top, 16 to 18 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking.

For the glaze: 1. While scones bake,

combine melted butter and honey in a small bowl.

2. Remove scones from the oven and brush tops evenly with glaze mixture. Return scones to the oven and continue to bake until golden brown on top, 5 to 8 minutes longer. Transfer scones to a wire rack and let cool for at least 10 minutes before serving.*

 ?? JOE KELLER/TNS ?? Treating the butter in two different ways is the key to light and flaky scones.
JOE KELLER/TNS Treating the butter in two different ways is the key to light and flaky scones.

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