Spy Journal 3.0 Filtering the web for you

I had a dream about making scones last night with meat in them. While thats a bit weird, I can make really good scones - in fact I have even won prizes for them.

So I thought I would give the recipe I use and the creative combinations of "special" ingredients that make them good.

Scones follow a basic recipe that has the same proportions of things. I'm using 3 of everything below, but you could use 1 or 2 or 5 if you wanted.

 

Start with a large enough mixing bowl for how much you are going to make.

Put 3 cups of flour and 3 teaspoons of baking powder (if not using self rising flour) into the bowl. Using the tips of your fingers rub 3 tablespoons of butter into the flour. Mix in 3 tablespoons of sugar and a pinch of salt. Pour in milk a little at a time and mix with a table knife until you get a stiff dough. Once you have that roll it out onto a floured cutting board (do not use a roller just your hands) about 1 inch thick and then cut into squares, or use cookie cutters to cut into circles. Scaps can be recombined and cut into more. Place them on an oven tray and cook in a hot oven 400F or 220C for 10-12 minutes.

 

Okay thats the basics.

Now for the specials. There are 3 types of extra things you can do.

•  Add /alter dry ingredients
• Add fruit and other things
• Add other wet ingredients

In place of the 3rd cup of flour you can add combinations of the following ingredients. Some of them need to be in small quantities so you might use 1/2 cup of flour and 1/2 cup of the special ingredient.

• Custard powder - makes them a lighter texture and golden colour
• Wholemeal / stoneground flour - makes them heavier and healthier
• Wheatgerm (just sprinkle this into the top of the last cup) - healthy
• Crushed weetbix or cornflakes
• Mixed spice, cinnamon, ginger - use no more than a 1/2 teaspoon of these things

At the sugar adding stage you can add half a cup of fruits and spices:

• Chopped dates
• Raisins or sultanas or currants
• Chopped glace cherries

You can also change the sugar to soft brown sugar, or replace with honey.

Finally when you add the milk you can throw in 1 or 2 eggs as well.

 

Before you place them in the oven it is nice to brish the tops of the scones with some milk or even a little beaten egg and milk mix for a nice glaze on the top.

 

So there you have it - my secret identity as a scone chef has been revealed!