Cream scones

So I turned 30 last week and, to celebrate, we threw a Pride and Prejudice-themed party, with tiny sandwiches, cakes and, of course, scones. Most of the scones I've made previously have had cheese or blueberries or something thrown into the mix, but I planned to serve these British-style with jam and clotted cream, so they needed to be fairly neutral. 

Recipe

adapted from Food.comMakes 10-12 scones2 cups all-purpose flour¼ cup sugar2 tsp baking powder⅛ tsp salt⅓ cup unsalted butter, chilled, cut into ½" cubes½ cup whipping cream1 large egg1½ tsp vanilla extract1 egg, beatensugarPreheat oven to 425 F. Place parchment paper on a baking sheet. In a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Cut in cubed butter with a pastry blender (or your hands) until the flour mixture resembles coarse meal. In a separate small bowl, mix together cream, egg and vanilla extract. Add the cream mixture to the flour mixture and stir until just combined. On a lightly floured surface, pat the dough into a ½" thick round. Using a floured 2½" round cutter, cut out rounds and place them on the baking sheet. Lightly brush each scone with beaten egg and sprinkle with granulated sugar. Bake for 13-15 minutes or until lightly golden. Let scones cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet on a wire rack, before taking a spatula and transferring them to the wire rack to completely cool. Serve warm or cool.

Musings

We served these with some of our strawberry-rhubarb jam and a bit of (store-bought) clotted cream, to really give it proper British flair. They turned out to be lovely, a little bit crumbly with just a touch of sweetness and made for excellent leftovers for the next several days.