Breakfast - Simple Scones

One morning in late December, I woke up wondering what I would do for the day. This doesn't happen very often because of school and other priorities, so I just sat at the kitchen table feeling bored. 

I was updating myself on twitter news, mostly Outlander fans and the like, when I saw Outlander's Kitchen tweet about scones.

http://outlanderkitchen.com/2011/12/21/fionas-cinnamon-scones-from-voyager-for-christmas-morning/

I WAS INSPIRED!

I knew what I was going to do. I was going to make scones for the first time!

I wasn't going to make her recipe because I don't like cinnamon, but I was going to find one that I happened to have everything on hand. 

And it was easy peesy to find a recipe because of Google. 

I found the Simple Scones recipe on AllRecipes.com and that was that. 

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/simple-scones/ 

Oh friends, if you want to make something that is easy and delicious and gets your ideas of baking to come out, make these scones! 

They were so good and now when I make these again tomorrow, I know what else I'm going to do with them to change it up. 

Such as:

• Cranberry-Orange Scones
• Follow the recipe for Simple Scones, adding a generous teaspoon of finely grated orange rind (zest) to the dry ingredients and substituting dried cranberries for the raisins.
• Lemon-Blueberry Scones
• Follow the recipe for Simple Scones, adding a generous teaspoon of finely grated lemon rind (zest) to the dry ingredients and substituting dried blueberries for the raisins.
• Cherry-Almond Scones
• Follow the recipe for Simple Scones, adding 1/2 tsp. almond extract to the sour cream mixture and substituting dried cherries for the raisins.

Scones Rising

 I know that picture is poor, but I was so excited about the dough rising, I had to take a picture! 

And here are my beautiful scones!

These were great for breakfast for the next few days too. 

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups all-purpose flour 1/3 cup sugar 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/4 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt

8 tablespoons unsalted butter, frozen 1/2 cup raisins (or dried currants) 1/2 cup sour cream 1 large egg

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2.	In a medium bowl, mix flour, 1/3 cup sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Grate butter into flour mixture on the large holes of a box grater; use your fingers to work in butter (mixture should resemble coarse meal), then stir in raisins.
3.	In a small bowl, whisk sour cream and egg until smooth.
4.	Using a fork, stir sour cream mixture into flour mixture until large dough clumps form. Use your hands to press the dough against the bowl into a ball. (The dough will be sticky in places, and there may not seem to be enough liquid at first, but as you press, the dough will come together.)
5.	Place on a lightly floured surface and pat into a 7- to 8-inch circle about 3/4-inch thick. Sprinkle with remaining 1 tsp. of sugar. Use a sharp knife to cut into 8 triangles; place on a cookie sheet (preferably lined with parchment paper), about 1 inch apart. Bake until golden, about 15 to 17 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes and serve warm or at room temperature.