Recipe Background
Strawberry scones: fresh, flaky, and perfect for rainy Sunday brunches.
They say a good friend knows all your stories, but a best friend has lived them with you. Fresh out of college, my best friend Jane and I rented our first tiny (yet charming) apartment together in the bustling heart of the city. We were determined to make it our own little paradise, however small. One rainy Sunday morning, we decided to christen our new kitchen with our first batch of homemade strawberry scones. Strawberries happened to be on sale at the market, an ideal excuse to break out our new pastry blender. It was the perfect opportunity to use the fancy vanilla extract we'd splurged on with our lease-signing celebration.
Amidst giggles and floury handprints on our foreheads, we learned the art of cold butter in scones. Cutting it into the flour mixture until coarse gave us a kitchen epiphany; those buttery lumps were key to perfect texture. As the scones baked, the smell mingled with the faint scent of fresh paint, marking a new chapter in our lives. Once cooled, a drizzle of glaze added that just-right sweetness we craved. Cooling them on a wire rack kept them crisp on the outside and tender inside, a tip we stumbled upon in a dog-eared recipe book.
That morning, coffee mugs in hand and plate of scones between us, we realized our new home was shaping up to be the backdrop of many more stories. Each scone was a bite into newfound independence and a peek into many breakfasts to come.
Ingredients
For the scones:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour plus more, to taste, for dusting the work surface
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter cut into 1/4-inch cubes
- 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon heavy cream divided
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup fresh strawberries chopped
- 2 tablespoons turbinado sugar
For the vanilla glaze:
- 1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- Line an 18x26-inch baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, add 2 cups of the flour, the granulated sugar, the baking powder, and the salt and whisk to combine.
- Add the cold butter to the flour mixture and, using a pastry blender or by hand, quickly cut the cold butter into the flour mixture until the mixture resembles coarse meal, with a few large butter lumps.
- In a small bowl, add 1 cup of the heavy cream and 1 teaspoon of the vanilla extract and whisk to combine.
- Add the heavy cream-vanilla mixture to the flour mixture and, with a spatula, stir until the dough begins to form. Be careful not to overmix.
- Add the strawberries to the dough mixture and gently fold to combine.
- Using the extra flour, lightly dust a work surface.
- Turn the dough out onto the prepared work surface and gently knead it just until a ball forms.
- By hand, form the dough into a 1-inch-thick circle by patting and gently pressing the dough. Be careful not to overwork the dough.
- With a sharp knife, evenly cut the dough into 8 triangles.
- In a single layer, place the dough triangles on the prepared baking sheet.
- Transfer the baking sheet to the freezer and let them chill to prevent the scones from spreading while baking, about 15-20 minutes.
- Transfer the scones from the freezer and, with a pastry brush, brush the tops of the scones with the remaining heavy cream.
- Evenly sprinkle the turbinado sugar on top of the scones.
- Bake until the scones are golden-brown on the bottom and around the edges, about 18-23 minutes.
- Transfer the baking sheet from the oven to a wire rack and let the scones cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes.
- Transfer the scones directly to the wire rack and let them cool completely.
- While the scones are cooling, in a small bowl, add the confectioners' sugar, the milk, and the remaining vanilla extract and whisk until smooth.
- Generously and evenly drizzle the glaze over the cooled scones.
- Serve.
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