Anyways, this is hands down, Mike's favorite breakfast. I think I can safely say that. He suggests that I make these scones on a weekly basis. These are AWESOME! However, I don't want you to make them and then live under the delusion that you've made legitimate, English tea-time scones. Far from it. This is very Americanized. But also very yummy :) The recipe calls for a food processor but you could definitely do it without one. Although I'm in love with mine and if you don't have one, I recommend you get one. They have ever so many uses!
Cream Scones
2 cups flour
1/4 cup sugar
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 cup chilled heavy whipping cream
1 egg lightly beaten
1 TB sugar, or for more crunch, 2 TB turbinado or raw sugar
1. Preheat the oven to 425 and position oven rack in the center. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a thin silicone mat. Place the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in the bowl of the food processor and process for 10 seconds to blend well. Add the cold butter pieces and pulse 5 times at 1-second intervals, or until the butter is cut into medium pieces. Add the cream and pulse another 20 times, or until the dough holds together in small, thick clumps. Use a spatula to scrape the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Gently squeeze the clumps together until they form a cohesive dough.
2. Pat the dough into a circle 7 inches in diameter and about 1 inch thick. Use a chef's knife (or just any big, sharp knife) to cut the dough into 8 equal wedges and transfer to the prepared baking sheet, spacing them 2 inches apart.
3. Brush the tops with a thin coating of the lightly beaten egg (you will not use all of the egg). Sprinkle evenly with sugar. Bake the scones for 14 to 16 minutes, until firm to the touch and golden brown. Transfer for a rack and let cool for 5 minutes. Serve scones warm or at room temperature.
*Here's the Sandi Side Notes! For one thing, I never do the egg wash. I hate wasting most of an egg, so I just sprinkle the sugar on without the egg wash and it sticks just fine. Granted, without the egg wash you won't have a nice golden brown on top, but I'm willing to make that sacrifice... Also, it usually takes me more than 5 pulses to get the butter down the size it's supposed to be at when I add it to the dry ingredients. And usually, USUALLY, after I add in the heavy cream, I usually add in some additional flour as well (which I guess I could just do initially when I add the flour in...). Sometimes the dough is just too moist and the scones will spread all over the place when baking. They'll still taste the same, just not as pretty.
This is about what it should look like after you mix the butter in.
Here's the circle of dough! Before it gets sliced...
And here it is sliced! I like to use turbinado sugar on these. Regular sugar works great, but I think it's worth the splurge to use turbinado :)
And DONE! These are fantastic. It's a solid quick bread type pastry, but it really has a creamy texture when you eat it.
Recipe Source: The Art and Soul of Baking