Autumn Scones with Candied Ginger and Dried Cherries
After visiting Dublin, I’m a little scone-obsessed. All the cafes offered scones, and they were generally so much tastier than the ones we get in America, sigh. These were for Kevin’s birthday, as ginger and cherries are two of his favorites.
I included a glaze option for these, but I didn’t glaze mine, as I don’t like scones very sweet — these are perfect served warm with a thick slathering of butter. If you do want sweet, a little cranberry-raspberry jam goes quite nicely. And tea or coffee, of course!
(If you don’t have a mini scone pan, you can cut and shape these by hand, and bake on a regular baking sheet, placing them quite close together. If you pop them in the freezer for 30 minute before baking, they’ll hold shape better.)
2 3/4 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 cup cold butter
1/2 c. chopped candied ginger
1/2 c. chopped dried cherries
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup milk
Glaze:
3 1/2 c. powdered sugar
7 T water
1. Preheat oven to 375F. Spray mini scone pan with Baker’s Joy (or butter and flour pan, which will be kind of a pain).
2. Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl. Chop butter in small pieces and cut into flour with a pastry cutter (or with your fingers) until mixture resembles coarse meal. (It’s fine to have small lumps.) Stir in ginger and cherries.
3. In a medium bowl, combine remaining 5 scone ingredients, beating eggs lightly. Pour into dry mixture and stir with a fork until a soft dough forms.
4. Turn out onto a lightly floured board and knead a few times. Cut into 16 equal pieces and press into the cavities of the pan.
5. Bake 20-25 or until medium brown. Let cool 20 minutes in pan, then remove from pan to wire rack and cool completely. Serve warm, with coffee or tea.
6. Optional: Glaze. In a medium bowl, combine powdered sugar and water. Line a baking sheet (with sides) with parchment. Pour glaze in, then dip scones in glaze. Remove to wire rack to dry. Alternately, drizzle glaze over the top.