A Nice Cuppa

It isn’t a must that you have tea with the queen in order to enjoy this delicious scone recipe. You don’t even need to have tea, I find they pair quite nicely with a fresh cup of coffee also.

I developed this recipe more out of desperation than creativity. I wanted a really tasty scone that wasn’t loaded down with half a dozen eggs and a pint of heavy cream. While I may be exaggerating the aforementioned proportions a bit, I couldn’t find a recipe that was relatively healthy and seemed promisingly tasty. I wanted a buttery, slightly sweet scone with a nice flavor, that’s still moderately healthy.

I used Martha Stewart’s recipe for Cranberry Scones from her Baking Handbook as the base to create my perfect scones.

Sugary Cinnamon Scones

Scone Dough:
2c. all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
1/2c. sugar
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
6 Tbsp unsalted butter, cut into small pieces, chilled
2/3c. fat-free half-and-half, plus 1 Tbsp reserved

Cinnamon Filling:
2 Tbsp packed brown sugar
1 Tbsp sugar
2 tsp cinnamon

Sugar Glaze:
3 Tbsp Confectioner’s Sugar
fat-free half-and-half, as needed

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a small bowl combine all ingredients for cinnamon filling. Mix until evenly blended. Set aside.

2. In medium bowl, whisk together flour, 1/2 c sugar, baking powder, and salt. Using pastry blender or 2 knives, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in 2/3c half-and-half until just moistened.

3. On a lightly floured surface, gently knead dough, 5-10 times. Pat into a 1/2 inch thick round or square. Evenly sprinkle half of dough with cinnamon filling mixture. Fold plain side over so that cinnamon filling is sandwiched in the middle. Cut into 8 evenly sized wedges; place on a baking sheet, approximately 5 inches apart. Brush tops with the reminaing 1 Tbsp half-and-half; sprinkle with 1 Tbsp sugar. Bake until golden brown, about 12-15 minutes. Let cool on wire rack.

4. Mix Confectioner’s sugar with enough half-and-half to make a glaze thin enough to drizzle. When scones are cooled drizzle with glaze.