Herb Scones

Photo: flickr user bossacafez

Ingredients

2/3 cup Flour Unbleached

1 teaspoon Baking Soda

2 teaspoons Cream Of Tartar

Salt To Taste

4 tablespoons Butter (½ Stick)

3/4 cup Milk

1 teaspoon dried herbs or 2 tsp fresh herbs

Preparation

Herb Scones - Add 1 teaspoon dried herbs, or 2 teaspoons (or more) chopped fresh herbs, to the basic dough before rolling out. (We usually use dried minced onion - 2 Tablespoons, and dried parsley - 1 to 2 Tablespoons ). The author suggests: "tarragon is good with a chicken-based dish; basil or oregano are sublime with tomatoes; chopped cilantro and red pepper make a spirited addition to soups of Asian or southwestern origin. For a truly intense herb scone, add 1/3 to 1/2 Cup pesto sauce to the dough along with the milk, keeping in mind that extra flour will be needed on the board to compensate for the extra liquid."

Preheat oven to 450F. Lightly grease a baking sheet and set aside. Sift together the flour, soda, cream of tartar and salt. Using a pastry blender or your hands, cut in the butter (or pulse in a food processor) until the mixture looks like coarse, grainy crumbs.

Pour the milk in a well in the center and mix until a soft elastic dough is formed. Knead the dough lightly on a floured surface until smooth. Roll or press the dough out until it is 3/4 inch thick. (If the dough is too thin the scone won't rise properly.)

Cut into 2 1/2 or 3-inch rounds with a cookie cutter or a glass and bake on prepared sheet for about 10 minutes or until they rise and are golden.

The book lists the yield as 8 scones, I usually get 10 or 12 using the full 3 cups of flour.

To make parsley and onion scones add about 2 Tablespoons dried minced onion and 1 or 2 Tablespoons dried parsley flakes with the dry ingredients. These amounts are VERY approximate, I used to measure but now I just dump in the onion flakes and parsley until it looks "right".

There are other variations listed in the with the recipe, if there is an interest I can post the variations listed for things like honey, jam, fruit etc.