Scones

I baked my first scone just a few years ago, and I am sorry I waited so long! They are moist and delicious, as Dr. Kingston knows. He gets his, however, on the outside. I prefer the convenience, savings and flavor from home baked. Besides, the bakeries here don't sell them!

"Shortly thereafter, the meeting was adjourned and Kingston served tea in china cups accompanied by scones from a local patisserie."

I adapted my basic scone recipe from one I found at allrecipes.com. I omitted the currants in their recipe and made these plain. They are delicious that way, with jam if you like. You may also add in 1/2 to 1 cup of your favorite mix-in. I once made these as Chocolate Cherry Scones by adding equal amounts of chocolate chips and dried cherries.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups flour
• ⅓ cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold
• ½ cup sour cream
• 1 large egg
• 1 tablespoon sugar, to sprinkle on top before baking

Directions:

Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a medium bowl, mix flour, 1/3 cup sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Cut in butter with a pastry knife until mixture resembles coarse meal.

In a small bowl, whisk sour cream and egg until smooth.

Using a fork, stir sour cream mixture into flour mixture until large dough clumps form. Use your hands to press the dough against the bowl into a ball.

Place on a lightly floured surface and pat into a 7- to 8-inch circle about 3/4-inch thick. Sprinkle with remaining 1 tsp. of sugar. Use a sharp knife to cut into 8 triangles; place on a cookie sheet (preferably lined with parchment paper), about 1 inch apart. Bake until golden, about 15 to 17 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes and serve warm or at room temperature.