cream scones: basic recipe + pistachios

Hello to Thursday, loves. For a moment when I woke up this a.m., I thought it was Friday!, but no, simply Thursday. That's good, because I have a new little thing I've been working up for you tomorrow, but not today. Today, I have exactly what you need to go with that orange curd... scones of course! In fact, it is my favorite go-to recipes for perfectly fluffy cream scones.

I already have a few scone recipes on here (a whole grain coconut chocolate chip recipe, which I looove and these oatmeal, maple, pecan scones, also delish). Both of these, however, come from the wee early days of this blog. I must have been on a scone kick, and then nothing, no scones for years, at least none posted. What I've done in that time is gone back to the basics. Don't get me wrong, I love me an oatmeal based scone and anything with coconut and chocolate I can hardly say no to, but I wanted to build my favorite basic scone recipe and adapt from there, and that is what I have for you today.

Adaptation is why I love me a basic recipe. Take this one, for example. You can add in a little citrus zest + dried fruit, or how about chocolate + cherries?, or even a toasted pistachio (like I did in these photos) or any other type of nut? Add a little (or a lot) of honey in place of some of the sugar. The list is endless, and you can use whatever you have on hand. bam, love it!!

I also learned a pretty amazing trick from Martha, which I'm totally loving and is making having hot scones on weekend mornings and/or entertaining totally attainable. (I like to sleep in on weekends). Here it is, should I make a graphic? We need a graphic!

Weeks, that is! I make a full batch of 16, throw them in the freezer and you are golden!! Love it, and they bake up as if they are fresher than fresh, just perfect. I used to freeze the baked scones and that worked okay, but this is like honestly a revelation to me. Why, oh why had I not thought of this before! A little spy I know told me they do this at bakeries too, so it's like a insider secret as well.

cream scones

makes about 16

nota bene: As I said above, you can add in just about anything you want to. Some of my favorite combos I already listed, but I'll do it again... dried cherries + chocolate, dried fruit of any kind - apricot, currants, cranberries + citrus zest, toasted nuts (pistachio here, yum!), any combination of fruit + nut, crystallized ginger, etc. If not adding any nut or fruit, I highly recommend adding in some citrus zest (lemon or orange).

4 1/2 c all-purpose flour

1/4 c sugar

2 Tbsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 c unsalted butter, cut into small pieces (kept cold)

1 c toasted nuts, dried fruit, chocolate chips, etc (optional)

1 to 2 tsp citrus zest (optional)

2 c heavy cream, or more

sanding sugar, for sprinkling (optional)

Line 2 baking sheets with a silpat or parchment paper.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt with mixer on low speed. Add bits of butter and stir on low speed until butter resembles the size of peas. Add in nuts, dried fruit, chocolate chips, citrus zest, etc. and mix on low speed just until combined. With the mixer on low, slowly pour in 2 c of cream into the flour mixture just until the dough comes together. If too dry, add a little more cream, 1 Tbsp or so at a time.

Turn out dough onto a floured work surface. Gently press dough together and pat it down so it is about 1 inch thick. Using a floured biscuit cutter, cut out scones and place on prepared baking sheet. Once scones are cut out, gently work dough back together, pat out again and cut more scones. Repeat until all dough is used up. Cover scones with plastic wrap and freeze until firm, at least 1 hour. (Note: this step is somewhat optional, but does produce nice looking scones. After this step is where you can leave them frozen for weeks. After 1 hour or more in the freezer, I take scones off the sheet and put into freezer bags.)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Beat together 1 egg + 1 Tbsp cream or water. Brush egg wash over scones and sprinkle them with sanding sugar (if using) or granulated sugar. Bake, rotating sheets halfway through (if using baking 2 sheets of scones), until scones are golden, about 30-35 minutes. (Note: if scones have been frozen for longer than 1 or 2 hours, check for doneness - that they are not frozen- in the middle of one). Cool scones on a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.