Scones

Scones are a quick (especially if you have a food processor) and easy treat. When my niece was visiting last weekend, she asked for my recipe so I decided to fix some for dessert.

As luck would have it, the oven in the kitchen was not working and it was too warm to fire up the wood stove. So I decided to cook them on the gas grill.

I put the wedges into a heavy iron skillet and heated the grill to 400.

They did pretty well -- a little overdone on the bottom but still delicious. The recipe is below.

Your family and friends will thank you if you make these.

SCONES

(From The Gourmet Cookbook)

(I changed various ingredients to match what I had on hand)

1 2/3 c. all-purpose flour (I used bread flour)

6 Tbs. sugar (plus more for sprinkling)

1 Tbs. baking powder

¾ tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. salt

1 1/3 c. old fashioned rolled oats (I used quick cooking)

11/2 sticks (12 Tbs.) cold unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons (plus a little more for the top) (I used salted butter & reduced the salt above)

Freshly grated zest of two large navel oranges (omitted due to a total lack of oranges – but it sure sounds good)

2/3 cup butter milk (I used half and half, replacing about a tablespoon of it with cider vinegar to sour it.)

½ c. finely chopped dried apricots (I used dried cranberries -- some pecans would have been a nice addition.)

Preheat oven to 425. Put rack in middle. Butter a large baking sheet.

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, soda, and salt in food processor. (Or in a bowl if you don’t have a processor). Add oats and pulse to mix. Or just mix). Add butter and pulse (or cut in with pastry cutter or two knives) till mixture resembles coarse meal with some pea sized lumps. Transfer to large bowl and stir in dried fruit.

In small bowl, combine buttermilk and zest, then stir in to flour mixture with a fork, stirring just till a sticky dough forms.

Turn out to lightly floured surface; and knead six times. Pat into a 1 inch thick round, dusting surface with more flour if needed.

Cut into eight wedges and transfer to buttered baking sheet. Melt a little more butter and brush the tops of the scones with it, then sprinkle with sugar. Bake till golden-brown, 15-18 minutes.