Scones: No longer just a boring British Breakfast

Posted by: Every Girls Secret on September 7th, 2009

My friends have a Beer Garden in their backyard. While you may have noticed that it IS a German Beer Garden, they did crank some English specialities out of their kitchen this year. Seeing that I was following the lead of a Shepherds Pie, it only seemed natural that I come up with something else from the region. It is a known fact that I like to bake, so I chose scones. There are endless possibilities as to how they can be customized. They can be sweet and savory for breakfast or with dinner. Both recipes were super easy to make, and the cheddar could easily have been used to house a sandwich. I haven’t had to kneed dough since I was a little girl, so I have to admit it was pretty fun. Please let me know if you have any recipe or ingredient combinations of your own that have been successful.

Shopping List: Beer & Cheese Scones
Dough:
3 cups flour (plus a little bit more)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
4 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
4 oz cold butter, diced
5 oz grated (sharp) cheddar
1 egg
1 1/3 cups beer (I used Radeberger)

Topping:
6 oz grated cheddar
2 tspns powdered English mustard
1 tspn Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup beer

Directions:
1. Pre-heat the oven to 425f.
2. In a food processor, combine 5 oz grated cheddar, 3 cups self raising flour and 4 oz butter (diced).
3. Pulse until mix resembles crumbs, then add 1 egg and 1 1/3 cups of beer. Pulse until the mix forms one big ball. Turn it out onto a floured board and knead a bit.
4. Kneed the dough into a round (about 1 inch high). Slice it as though you are slicing a pie. This will give you 8 wedges.
5. Place: the wedges onto a baking sheet (which has been brushed with oil). Spoon the topping onto each wedge. Bake for approx. 25 minutes.

Shopping List: Chocolate Chip Scones
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup white sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons butter, chilled and cubed (I used I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter for Baking and Cooking)
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
8 tablespoons orange juice

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. With a pastry blender or a large fork, cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in the chocolate chips. Mix in the orange juice to form a dough.
3. Kneed the dough on a floured surface. Pat or roll into a 9 inch circle about 1/2 inch thick. Cut into triangle shapes. Transfer the scones to the baking sheet which has been brushed with oil.
4. Bake in preheated oven until golden brown, about 12 minutes. Cool.