Perfect Cream Scones

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
6 tbsp. cold butter, cut into pieces
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup half-and-half or cream
Optional glaze: half-and-half or cream

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper OR a silicone baking mat.

In a large bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Cut the butter into small pieces and blend into the flour mixture with a pastry blender, two butter knives or your fingers. The mixture will be crumbly. In a small measuring cup, stir together the half-and-half or cream, beaten egg and vanilla. Add the wet ingredients to the flour mixture. Stir just until combined. Do not over mix. Alternatively (my preferred method), add all dry ingredients to a food processor and pulse. Add the butter and pulse until mixture is evenly crumbly. Slowly add the wet ingredients through the food processor chute, pulsing to combine.  Pulse just until the dough forms a large ball.

Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface, knead gently a few times and then pat into an 8-in. circle. Cut the circle into 8 even wedges. Alternately, use a 2 1/2-in. round biscuit cutter to cut the dough into rounds. Re-roll/pat out the scraps as needed. Place the wedges or rounds on the prepared cookie sheet, spacing a few inches apart. Optional: brush the tops of the scones with a little cream.

Bake for 18-20 minutes or until nicely browned. Excellent served warm with Devonshire (clotted) cream and jam, or butter and honey.

Makes 8 wedges or about 10 2 1/2-in. round scones.

Click here for a printable version.

Recipe adapted from https://www.joyofbaking.com/scones.html 

Tips--Use the food processor to save time and don't feel guilty! Save the knife you use to cut the butter for slicing the dough into wedges. In my experience, salted and unsalted butter are nearly interchangeable, despite what "real" bakers say. Reduce the salt slightly if you use salted butter. 

And now for the BS. I have been making scones for YEARS. I have tried dozens of recipes, and this is the one I always come back to. The only real change I made to the original recipe is that I slightly increased the butter. The original recipe calls for 1/3 cup of butter and I don't like having oddball amounts of leftover butter in the fridge, so I rounded it up to 6 tbsp. I also do wedges, not rounds, because it is faster, even if it isn't authentically British. Do what works for you! The cream glaze helps to brown the scones and also makes them prettier, and it adds a little crunch to the edges (which I like), but if you are in a hurry, it's not necessary.  These scones freeze well, if you have extras. Reheat in a toaster oven to make the edges crisp again.