Buttermilk Scones
Source: “Cooking with Julia”
Ingredients
- 3 cups All Purpose Flour
- ⅓ cup Sugar
- 2½ teaspoons Baking Powder
- ½ teaspoon Baking Soda
- ¾ teaspoons Salt
- 1½ sticks (6 oz.) Cold Butter, Cut Into Small Pieces
- 1 cup Buttermilk
- 1 tablespoon Orange Or Lemon Zest
- ½ stick (2 oz) Butter, Melted For Brushing
- ¼ cup Sugar, For Dusting
- Dried Fruit, Chocolate, etc. (see note below)
Method
Preheat the oven to 425°F.
In a medium bowl, stir the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together with a fork. Add the cold butter pieces and, using your fingertips, work the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. It’s ok if some largish pieces of butter remain - they will add flakiness
Pour in 1 cup buttermilk, toss in the zest, and mix with the fork only until ingredients are just moistened. If dry, add another tablespoon buttermilk. Add any dried fruit, chocolate that you would like. Gather the dough into a ball, pressing it gently so that it holds together, turn it out onto a lightly floured work surface, and knead very briefly - a dozen turns should do it. Cut dough in half.
Roll one piece of dough into a ½ inch-thick circle that is about 7 inches across. Brush the dough with half of the melted butter, sprinkle with 2 tablespoons sugar, and cut the circle into 6 triangles. Place the scones on an ungreased baking sheet and set aside while you roll out the rest of the dough.
Bake the scones for 10 to 12 minutes, until both the tops and bottoms are golden. Transfer the scones to a rack to cool slightly. These are best served warm but are just fine at room temperature.
STORING: If you are not going to eat the scones the day they are made, wrap them airtight and freeze; they’ll stay fresh for a month. They can go from freezer to oven for 5-10 minutes and will be ready to go. I actually prefer them after they have been frozen and reheated.
Notes
My favorite additions are dried, chopped dates with orange zest. Also chocolate chips with either orange or lemon zest. Raisins, dried cranberries……whatever strikes you.
ENJOY!!!