Cheap Eats — Katy's Scone Recipe

I wrote the other day about tucking leftover cranberry sauce into a double batch of scones, and a number of readers asked me to share my recipe.

I started making scones years ago while in nursing school, as I found them to be quick, easy, versatile and the perfect gift, (who among us is not overjoyed to receive a still-warm-from-the-oven buttery scone?) Plus, the ingredients are so basic as to always be on hand. The recipe I used then, and still use is from the 1990 New York Times cookbook. Here is the recipe as written:

Tea Scones

2 cups sifted flour

2 Tablespoons sugar

3 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

5 Tablespons butter

1 egg, beaten

3/4 cup milk, approximately

1. Preheat the oven to 425°.
2. Sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
3. Chop in the butter with a pastry blender until the flour coated particles of butter are the size of course cornmeal.
4. Add the egg and about three quarters of the milk. Stir quickly and lightly, only until no flour shows. Add more milk if needed to make a soft dough.
5. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead gently about 15 times. Cut the dough in half. Shape each half into a ball, press each down into a round about 1/2 inch thick and cut into wedges like a pie.
6. Place the wedges on a greased cookie sheet without allowing the sides to touch. Glazed if desired with a lightly beaten egg. Bake until deep golden brown, about 12 minutes.

Because I don’t like to follow rules, (I’m a rebel) and because I like to experiment, I never actually bake these scones to the letter. Here are the changes that I make:

• Substitute 1/2 a cup of the flour with oatmeal.
• Add the zest of an orange or lemon, or whatever citrus fruit I happen to have laying around my kitchen.
• Mix in extra goodies such as dried cranberries, berries, chocolate chips or even leftover cranberry sauce.
• I never glaze the tops with a beaten egg, but I do always pat cinnamon sugar onto the tops before cutting into wedges.
• I have never buttered the pan, as the scones are buttery enough to not have sticking be an issue. Thank you very much.
• I usually double the recipe, so that we have enough to share with neighbors. The burden of work and clean up is the same either way.

Here are other recipes from my series of Cheap Eats:

Hakuna Frittata

Black Bean Burgers

One hour bread

Burritos

Curried Lime Chicken Satay

Pasta salad

Pesto

Tea towel Salad Dressing

Momeye’s Coffee Cake

Katy Wolk-Stanley

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”

Tagged as: Blogging, Blogs, Cheapskate, Food, Frugal, Frugality, Recipes, Scones, Simple Living, Tightwad, Tightwad Gazette