Excellent Scones

Buttermilk Lemon Scones

2 1/2 c all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c cold butter, cut into chunks
3/4 c buttermilk
1 large egg
1/2 dried currants
1 T grated lemon peel
2/3 cup powdered sugar
2 T lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350. Mix together flour, sugar, bp and salt. Add cut up butter and cut in with a pastry blender or pulse in food processor until mixture resembles coarse meal. (If using a processor, scrape into a bowl.)

In a separate bowl, whisk buttermilk and egg to blend. Add to flour mixture along with currants and lemon zest. Stir with a fork until evenly moistened. Dough will look crumbly.

Scrape dough onto a floured surface. With lightly floured hands (important) work into a ball, then pat into a 7-8 inch round about 1 3/4 inch thick. Cut dough into 8 equal wedges. Place wedges 2 inches apart on a baking sheet.

Bake scones until tops are browned, 20-25 minutes. In a small bowl, stir together powdered sugar and lemon juice. Drizzle glaze over slightly warm scones.

On my most recent visit to Gma and Gpa's, I chose to tackle a box of recipe clippings, coupons and newspapers, to see what needed to be saved, and what tossed. It was an interesting exercise, going through decades of recipes, finding out about my grandmother's culinary obsessions over the years. The very best find was her 1935 school handbook. She would have been about 12 then, and in the 6th or 7th grade. The booklet explained the best way to do dishes, how to plan meals for optimum nutrition, and was full of basic recipes. In the pages in the back, Grandma had noted that she was "making batters today" and had detailed two unfamiliar verses to "Polly Wolly Doodle".

Scones appeared again and again in the stacks. Everything from Traditional English Scones to Ginger Scones with Passionfruit Jam. You name it, if it was a scone, she'd clipped it and saved it. So when I returned home, I had to smile at the recipe for these, already sitting on my own desk. And of course, I had to make them. They are quite rich-- I don't even want to tell you what the calorie count is per scone-- but they are a rib-sticking breakfast and mighty tasty. The recipe is from Sunset Magazine, April 2006.

Some of the other items that seemed to be of particular interest: panettone (which she still loves), Dutch Baby (a giant pancake), crepes, blintzes, crab, almost anything with pumpkin or apples, quiche, cheesecake, pancakes and waffles, waffles, waffles. Though it appears that Gma was obsessed with breakfast food, the breakfast I remember best was always soft-scrambled eggs made with milk and pepper, and bacon frying on the electric stove. I am always glad to make the scrambled eggs for her now when I get the chance.