Simmer Till Done

Hello, readers! Still on the special-projects work break, which, between you and me and the blogosphere, is starting to get a bit muddled. Perhaps I’m lacking inspiration, or maybe I’m just missing the sound of your friendly ears. Anyway – just a few more repeats and I’ll back simmering, more stewing than ever. As always, thanks for hanging around.

In anther lifetime I lugged hundred-pound bags of flour, I hadn’t met hair-smoothing heat tools and I ran a business called Scone on the Range.  Scone opinions may vary – but for tastefully sentimental reasons, these will always be my choice. Original post, from April 2008, found here.
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It seems like I’ve been around scones forever, but for years I only read about them, in lacy novels and high-tea books, until I was twenty-two. I went to work for a very gourmet food shop, answering phones and typing menus, and I did it two steps from a busy kitchen door.

When that door swung toward my desk, I could catch another world, and when I wasn’t confirming the luncheon for trophy wives, I began to sneak small bites: salty prosciutto and runny brie, streaky pancetta and French green beans, currant butter and fresh-baked scones - melting sugar that was never too sweet, glorious buttery bread that oh my god was not bread at all.

I stopped going out for subs and started lunching at my desk, crumbly scone-currant butter-prosciutto sandwiches, munched on napkins with sips of Orangina. After the first scone I was hooked, and instead of trying to beat them, I’d spend the next twenty years trying to join them.

Now scones are an everyday thing, and they inspire strong feelings; more exotic than a biscuit, more homey than cake, always utterly delicious. We didn’t invent them, but there they are in our coffee shops, our groceries, our airports and kitchens. Are they ours? The British would hmph and the Scots would say they are not even scones, but what of it? Holding a tray from the oven, arguments disappear and the scones do too.

I should tell you that the gourmet shop fired me, and I’d never been fired before, or since, and when that swinging door kicked me it broke my hungry heart. But it also pushed me into the kitchen for good, and eventually I would spin that first taste into a business called Scone on the Range.

And that is a story for another day.

Hmph…now I’m all worked up. Let’s make some scones.

Scones aren’t a perfect science, so don’t fret about all the steps – after a few rounds of mixing, cutting and eating, it’s like riding a bike. A very warm, buttered bike.

We’re making Orange Chocolate Chip Scones, and to get them truly orang-ey, we need orange zest.

You can finely chop thin strips of orange peel, or use a fine-holed cheese grater, or spend seven hours with a shmancy zester. But if you’re an extremely zesty girl – like me – consider investing in a Microplaner. It is a heavenly efficient tool.

Whisk together the eggs, heavy cream and vanilla.

Mmm. I’m thinking eggnog.

Put the dry ingredients (except the sugar) in a mixer bowl, and add the cubed butter. Yes, you can make perfectly good scones without a stand mixer – but this leaves me one hand to push Cleo off the counter.

Cutting in Butter Like biscuits, you want the butter to disappear into the flour. Here, we do it by running the mixer on low – and I mean low, or it’s hello, white volcano - until the butter is reduced to large floury crumbs.

Grab those lovely whisked eggs. With the mixer on low, slowly pour in the liquid…

…turning the mixer on and off, on and off, like the ‘pulsing’ of a food processor.
Before the dough comes together, add the sugar, chocolate chips, and orange zest.

Keep mixing on low, on and off, until it just comes together…

…like so. Is it slightly wet and sticky, is there flour at the bottom? Does it look shaggy and uneven and not done? Good – you made scone dough!

Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Using floured hands or a bench scraper – a metal pancake turner works, too – turn it over a few times, pressing lightly but not kneading, until it just comes together, soft, thick, and smooth.

Beware of lurking labs. They are a scone’s natural predator.

Pat dough 1/2″ to 1″ thick (thicker = higher, but fewer scones) and cut as desired. You can cut wedges or use a floured cookie cutter to stamp out rounds. Below, I’ve cut fluted triangles…

…because the tall wavy edges make me happy. Can you spot the lucky butter chunk?

For a ‘browner’ scone, brush lightly with cream or milk. Then sprinkle the remaining sugar in a thick layer over the tops. See that imperfect scone in the corner? That’s for Josie. She can spot an earmarked leftover blob a mile away.

It’s the homeliest, the tastiest, and the first one gone.

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Scone on the Range Scones, Orange Chocolate Chip

(click here for a printable recipe)

makes about 1 dozen large scones

4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
6 oz. cold butter, cubed (12 tablespoons)
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
4 large eggs
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
finely grated zest of one orange

extra sugar for sprinkling

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Preheat the oven to 400 F.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, and baking soda in large mixing bowl or stand mixer bowl.

Cut in butter – you can do this two ways:

Electric stand mixer With the flour mixture in the stand mixer bowl and the paddle blade attached, turn on the slowest speed and slowly add butter chunks, mixing to a coarse meal texture and only a few floury crumbs of butter remain.

(or)

By hand Using a sharp-bladed pastry cutter tool, or two knives, “cut” the butter pieces into the flour mixture until you have a coarse meal texture.

In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, cream, and vanilla.

Add liquid mixture to dry ingredients by hand or with stand mixer on low, using “on-off” mixing. Stop just long enough to add sugar, chocolate chips, and orange zest, then continue mixing briefly to form a soft and sticky dough. Scrape dough onto lightly floured surface and turn over a few times to combine, adding flour if necessary.

Form scones You can divide dough in half, form each piece to a 1″ thick round, and cut into equal wedges, or you can pat to 1″ thick and use floured cutters for rounds or triangles.

Transfer scones to cookie sheet pan, preferably lined with parchment paper.

If desired, brush the top of each scone with a small amount of milk or cream. Sprinkle the extra white sugar thickly over tops. Bake 15-18 minutes, or until set and tops are golden brown. Cool on baking sheet a few minutes, then transfer to racks, and serve.

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