QUEEN BEE SCONES
Lofty, well-textured scones are irresistable! especially with tea or coffee. A cross between a biscuit and cake, scones are the perfect vehicle for all kinds of add-ins, savory or sweet. You can either scoop the dough, or pat out dough on a floured board, cut into triangles or use a biscuit cutter.
Variations below
Preheat oven to 425°
Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper
Whisk together:
2 cups Queen Bee Bread, Biscuit, Pie Crust Flour
1/2 tsp Expandex* optional, see below
2 ½ tsp baking powder
⅓ cup sugar, reduce for savory scones. DO NOT USE COCONUT PALM SUGAR.
1 tsp salt
½ tsp ground nutmeg
6 Tb cold butter, cut up
1 large egg
½ cup milk or non-dairy alternative
Using your fingers or a pastry blender, cut cubed butter into dry ingredients until it resembles pea sized crumbs.
In small bowl, whisk the egg and milk. If using any flavor extracts, add to liquids. Then use a fork to lightly stir into flour/butter mixture. If using any variations such as fruit or nuts, stir them in until just combined. Do not over mix.
The batter will be thick and a bit sticky. Let batter sit for 5 minutes.
Use a 1/2 cup scoop dipped in warm water and place scones about 2” apart on baking sheet.
To glaze, use pastry brush or dampen fingers to coat tops with a little milk or non-dairy milk. Sprinkle with sugar; flaked salt is great for savory scones.
Bake 17 minutes until golden brown and toothpick inserted comes out clean.
*Expandex is a modified tapioca starch. It enhances texture in some gluten free recipes and makes scones light and airy; available on Amazon.
Variations:
Follow recipe directions above. Add any spices to dry ingredients, liquid flavorings to wet ingredients, and stir in fruits and nuts last.
Bacon, Green Chili, Cheddar Scones/Biscuits
Reduce the sugar to 2 Tb.
Omit nutmeg and add ½ tsp black pepper and ⅓ cup dry parmesan cheese to dry ingredients.
After cutting in the butter, add ¾ cup grated sharp cheddar; mix just to combine.
Stir in 1/3 cup each diced green chili and drained, crisply cooked bacon bits (bacon is optional). I prefer to dice up uncooked slices of bacon before frying and drain on paper towels.
Moisten tops with wet hands and then a light sprinkle of kosher salt flakes.
Non-Dairy Version
Use chilled, non-hydrogenated shortening. I spread it on a small plate and place in freezer for about 15-20 minutes. Scones will not rise as high using shortening.
Omit cheese. You could add 1 tsp butter flavoring to your liquid ingredients.
Chocolate Scones
Add 1/2 cup sifted cocoa powder to dry ingredients. Increase sugar to 1/2 cup and 'milk' to 3/4 cup.
Blueberry Scones
1 cup fresh blueberries, rinsed and blotted dry on paper towels OR
whole frozen unthawed blueberries with ice particles removed OR
1 cup dried blueberries (this is what I prefer)
1 cup slivered almonds (optional)
3 tsp lemon flavoring (optional)
Raisin Spice Scones
½ - ¾ cup fresh raisins
1/8 tsp cloves
1 tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp nutmeg
2 tsp orange flavoring
Maple Spice Pecan Scones
2 tsp maple flavoring
1/8 tsp cloves
½ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp nutmeg
Non-Dairy Cranberry, Orange, Almond Scones
Substitute cold margarine for the butter and almond milk for the milk.
Or use chilled, non-hydrogenated shortening. I spread it on a small plate and place in freezer for about 15-20 minutes.
Leave in nutmeg
2 tsp orange flavoring
1 tsp butter flavoring
2/3 cup each dried cranberries and sliced almonds
Banana Walnut Spice Scones
1 cup diced frozen banana
¾ cup chopped walnuts
½ tsp maple flavor
1/8 tsp cloves
1 tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp nutmeg
Raspberry Cardamon Scones
1 cup unthawed frozen raspberries with ice particles removed
2 ½ tsp orange flavoring
½ tsp cardamon
Apricot or Golden Raisin, Almond Scones
For non-dairy, use chilled, non-hydrogenated shortening. I spread it on a small plate and place in freezer for about 15-20 minutes. Or chilled margarine. I like New Earth's coconut oil spread.
Optional: add 1 tsp butter flavor to the liquids.
Add 2 tsp almond extract to the liquids.
2/3 cup golden raisins or snipped dried apricots
I like to top these with a sprinkle of cardamon sugar.