These scones taste flavorful but the crumb is heavy bordering on dry (the apples keep them from being dry) and they didn't rise very well. |
I love the Apple-Cinnamon Scones from Central Market in Austin. I used to stop in on the way to work and get one to eat with my morning coffee...or I'd stop by and buy a box of 4 for the week-end at home. I also loved the minis. They were so tender and moist and flavorful....WONDERFUL crumb. So, that is what these were up against.
Saturday morning I REALLY wanted scones. I've never made them before but I felt like I should be able to do it with little trouble. (ha!) I searched around for a recipe and settled on one from food.com. I stuck to the recipe except for using half and half instead of milk. I think I should have either stuck with the milk or added a bit more liquid...the scone dough was a tad dry and pulled away from the apple pieces..which resulted in me probably over-working the dough in an attempt to get it back together.
After all was said and done...the flavor was quite good...but they were heavy vs having a good crumbly crumb. They didn't double in height as I had expected. These were also not as sweet as I would have liked. Still, they were very tasty. They will get eaten!
I'll make scones again - but I'll be looking for a different recipe. I believe Ina Garten has one and hers looked good (of course)...so I'll be searching that out.
For now, here's the recipe - maybe it will do better for you! It had a good rating.
APPLE CINNAMON SCONES
Ingredients:
Serves: 12
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 cup butter (cold)
- 1 cup apple, chopped
- 1/2 cup walnuts, chopped (I did not use)
- 1/2 cup milk (I used half and half)
- 1 egg, separated
- 1 tablespoon sugar (for topping)
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (for topping)
Directions:
- Heat oven to 400°F Grease a baking sheet. (I used a silpat)
- In a large bowl, combine flour, 2 tbsp sugar, baking powder, and 1 tsp cinnamon; mix well.
- With pastry blender, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
- Stir in apples and walnuts.
- In a small bowl, combine milk and egg yolk, blend well.
- Add milk/egg mixture to the flour mixture and stir just until dry ingredients are moistened.
- On a lightly floured surface, gently knead dough several times.
- With floured rolling pin, roll dough to 1/2 inch thickness.
- Cut out scones with a 3-inch round cookie cutter.
- Place 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheet.
- In another small bowl, beat egg white until foamy.
- Brush egg whites over tops of scones. (I brushed on sides too - might have been part of the problem)
- Mix together the cinnamon and sugar for the topping and then sprinkle this over the scones.
- Bake for 20-22 minutes or until firm to the touch.
- Immediately remove from the baking sheet and serve warm.
So, that's how I did it...and I do think they are tasty...but they sure don't compare to the big fat wonderful Central Market scones. I will continue in my endeavor towards replicating them!
Bon Appetit, Y'all!
Oh snap! Brushing egg whites on the sides was exactly what was wrong. I saw a cooking show that said "be sure to only brush the tops or they won't be able to rise". Well, lesson learned!
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