Set the Table... for Scones

SOMETIMES I WANT something a little sweet, but not too sweet, and the scone is a perfect thing to satisfy such a craving. Scones, much like muffins, are great because with a basic recipe, you can get a number of different flavors by changing just one or two ingredients. 

In this recipe I used cinnamon and currants, but you can experiment with many other fruits, nuts or spices to get different flavors. Generally, you'll want about 1/2 cup of fruit and perhaps a 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of spice.

• 1 1/2 cups flour (or your favorite gluten-free baking mix)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 pinch salt
• 1/3 cup butter, cold and cut into 1/2" cubes
• about 1/2 cup buttermilk or milk
• (1 tsp cinnamon)
• (1/2 cup currants) 

Preheat oven to 400.

Mix all the dry ingredients together well, and add the butter cubes. Use your fingers or a pastry cutter to incorporate the butter into the flour mixture thoroughly.

Once the butter is mixed in so that the texture is light and a little grainy looking but without any big chunks of butter, add the buttermilk or milk a few tablespoons at a time. Stir the buttermilk in and keep adding it little by little until you have a thick paste consistency.

On a cookie sheet covered in parchment paper, spoon the scones out about 1 1/2" inches apart. They will spread some as you cook them. Using a small spoon, sprinkle a bit of sugar over the top of each scone.

Put the scones in the oven and cook them for about 8 minutes. I recommend checking them at around 6 minutes, but it may take up to 10 minutes. I used a gluten-free bake mix to make these scones, and it never rises as well as wheat flour, but it still tastes great. Serve them warm for breakfast, snack or a midday not-too-sweet treat. Enjoy!