My first meeting with a scone was at a coffee-house. I ordered a coffee and this wonderful looking scone that was in the bakery case. From that moment, I knew I wanted to make these myself.
Scones are an easy to make quick bread. I love all types of breads, but give me a quick bread and I’m one happy gal.
Quick breads are things like muffins, biscuits, pancakes, and waffles. They are breads that are made with leaveners other than yeast. They all use the same basic ingredients…flour, sugar, and salt. What makes them different is the mixing method.
Baking really is a science. You just can’t dump ingredients into a bowl and expect to have a great result. Mixing methods really matter.
To make a good scone you need to use the biscuit method to prepare these. The biscuit method is simply mixing the dry ingredients then cutting the fat into the flour. Then all the liquid is added at once and carefully stirred with a fork to moisten the dry ingredients. Then you lightly knead to combine the dough.
The secret to great scones is cutting the butter into small particles to create a wonderful texture.
Here is where science comes in…those bits of butter are wrapped in flour so when they bake the butter gradually melts and spreads out. That leaves space for steam and carbon dioxide to expand the dough. This gives that soft, open texture 😀
I love these Strawberry Scones! They are always moist and tender. Since the dough isn’t handled too much, the strawberries stay whole and don’t bleed out into the dough.
I start by combining the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet ingredients in another. Then cut the cold butter into the flour with a fork or pastry blender. You could also use your fingers to gently rub the butter into the flour to create little grains.
I use buttermilk in my recipe to make these tender and give them some great flavor.
Sparkling sugar is sprinkled on each scone just before baking to give these a nice crunch.
See all those little pockets? Those are steam pockets. When you see bread with lots of those you know it has risen well during baking.
These Strawberry Scones are so moist, tender, and loaded with delicious bites of fresh strawberries. They are perfect with a cup of coffee or tea for breakfast or as a snack.
The white whole-wheat flour and strawberries in these scones makes these whole grain and adds valuable Vitamin C. This vitamin C functions as an antioxidant which can help prevent oxidative damage to cells.
Strawberries also have heart health benefits. They can help reduce the risk of hypertension and inflammation which can lower your risk of developing cardiovascular disease.
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- 2 cup white whole wheat flour
- ⅓ cup sugar
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 large egg
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- ¼ cup buttermilk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 6 Tbsp unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small cubes
- 1 cup fresh strawberries, chopped
- 8 tsp sparkling sugar
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with silpat or parchment paper.
- In a large mixing combine flour sugar, baking powder, and salt with a whisk; set aside.
- In a small bowl beat egg. Add heavy cream, buttermilk, and vanilla; whisk to combine.
- Add butter to the flour mixture. Using your fingers rub the butter into the flour for form a coarse meal.
- Add milk mixture to flour. Stir with a fork to combine batter into a loose dough.
- Gently stir in the strawberries.
- Transfer dough onto a lightly flour counter top. Gently press dough together to form a 8 inch circle about 1 inch thick.
- Cut into 8 wedges. Place on baking sheet.
- Sprinkle each scone with 1 tsp of sugar.
- Bake for 12-15 minutes or until lightly browned.
[…] like my Strawberry Scones these are whole grain, light and tender, and are perfect any time of the day. We love them for […]