Le weed-end, c’est sacré! Sacrebleu!
Weekends are sacred! Is it just me or do you also live for your weekends? A gorgeous, sunny Saturday afternoon and nothing to worry about - unless you are a grad student stuck in the lab, trying to complete the last experiments that will set you free from your slave-driving boss!
Friday, 4 pm…no 3:30 pm. Traffic is already backed up, but for once this week, nothing will take that smile off your face. Not mine, anyway. Shut the car door, put my sunnies on. Turned CKUA on. Already cruising off the office politics, planning for a well-deserved glass of wine and a relaxing fin de semaine.
This weekend, you might have planned for afternoon tea with you girlfriends or a brunch with your in-laws, and scones are an easy treat to make. They are best freshly baked, but they barely need any kneading to achieve flakiness and lightness. I just simply wanted to treat myself with something other than muffins for brunch, plus I got to snack on the leftover for goûter instead of cheese and crackers. The buttermilk dough I found in Chatelaine is not only light but, but also slightly tangy. I decided to divide my dough into two portions for sweet and savoury scones, but you can easily make two separate batches to scale it up.
These scones are decadent enough to be enjoyed on their own, but feel free to enhance your experience with simple yogurt dips! A berry yogurt is the perfect match for the rich and sweet macadamia and chocolate scones. For the cheddar and sun-dried tomato scones, a plain yogurt spiked with lime juice and a pinch of salt. YUM!
Ingredients for 12 scones:
2 cups baking or all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
¾ teaspoon salt
¼ cup cold unsalted butter, cubed
1 egg
½ cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons milk
For 6 sweet scones:
1/3 cup macadamia nuts
1/8 cup dark chocolate chips
For 6 savoury scones:
½ cup grated yellow cheddar
¼ cup sliced sun dried tomatoes
1 small red onion (about ¼ cup)
1. Sift flour, baking powder and salt into a large bowl.
2. Stir in sugar using a fork.
3. Cut the cold butter into the flour until crumbly.
4. In another bowl, whisk egg with buttermilk.
5. Make a well in the flour mixture and pour in the egg mixture.
6. Mix with a wooden spoon. Divide the dough into two bowls at this point if you want to make sweet and savoury scones.
7. With floured hands, add in chopped macadamia nuts and chocolate chips for the sweet scones; cheddar, sun dried tomatoes and red onion for the savoury scones.
8. Preheat the oven to 400 F.
9. Line one or two baking sheets with parchment paper.
10. Gently knead the dough for 10 secs, just enough to mix the filling in.
11. Gather and pat the dough onto a floured board to form a ½ inch-thick disk.
12. Cut out scones using a floured small glass.
13. Place the scones about 1 inch apart on the lined baking sheets.
14. Lightly brush with milk and bake for 13 mins, until light golden.
15. Cool on a rack and serve with yogurt.
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