Nigella's Scones

Oh my goodness, the power of persuasion really works. Here's the proof!

I was watching one of my favourite TV shows- Nigella's Kitchen and she was making and then devouring these scones... I could taste them through the TV... I was hypnotized and had to make them myself right away.... except, unlike Nigella suggests in her recipe, I did not eat them with clotted cream or treacle... but jam!

So, I got started,  took out my little pastry molds, yes, from Dollarama, chose the perfect little blue one and got started... check it all out below.

 

Buttermilk Scones 

(courtesy of Nigella Lawson, http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/nigella-lawson/buttermilk-scones-recipe.html)

Ingredients

3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons cream of tartar

2 teaspoons superfine sugar

4 tablespoons (1/4 cup) unsalted butter

2 tablespoons soft vegetable shortening (I just used butter)

1 1/4 cups buttermilk

1 egg, beaten, for an egg wash (optional)

1 large lipped baking sheet or half sheet pan

1 (2-inch) biscuit cutter, preferably fluted

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F and line a large lipped baking sheet with parchment paper.

Put the flour into a bowl with the baking soda, cream of tartar, and sugar. Chop the butter and the vegetable shortening into pieces and drop them into the flour. Rub the fats into the flour - or just mix any old how - and then pour in the buttermilk, working everything together to form a dough.

Lightly flour your work surface. Pat the dough into a round-edged oblong about 1 3/4 inches thick and cut out 2-inch scones with a biscuit cutter. (Mine are never a uniform height, as I only pat the dough into its shape without worrying whether it's irregular or not.)

Arrange the scones fairly close together on your lined baking sheet,...

...and brush with beaten egg (to give golden tops) or not as you wish.

Bake for 12 minutes, by which time the scones will be dry on the bottom and have a relatively light feel.

Remove them to a wire rack to cool, and serve with clotted cream and your favourite jam.

Do you see the size of those scones, they puffed up so much are absolutely delicious served warm, right out of the oven.