Guilt Appeasing Scones For Playgroup

I still haven’t hosted my playgroup.

I hope that you aren’t appalled–I swear once the house is built I will host repeatedly. I just hate my living circumstances so much right now. But anyway, the solution of course is that I keep offering to bring food. Last week I used them as my guinea pigs for those different versions of Sammy’s potential birthday cakes I told you about previously, and this week I made scones.

I have one absolutely inviolable cardinal rule when it comes to scones–or at least when it comes to serving them to people outside the immediate family. They must be served fresh out of the oven. They are just not meant to sit around. Ever. Will they sometimes taste good hours later? Sure. Will they knock people’s socks off? Unlikely. Scones dry out very quickly; the reason they have gotten such a bad rep from Starbucks, Barnes & Noble and every other cafe serving them is because they are not meant to sit around, let alone be shipped cross country.

OK, lecture over.

The great thing about fresh scones is that a merely good scone will taste almost as good as a spectacular scone, served side by side, if they are both hot out of the oven. So while I am sharing both recipes with you, the truth is I thought the Starbucks’ Copycat Pumpkin Scones that I got off of the Cooking Light Bulletin Board were merely good (although the other moms seemed to appreciate them–and to be fair I did not ice them as called for because in my opinion a well-made scone should never need icing, see serving fresh comments above), while the Bon Appetit Lemon Cream Scones were swoon-worthy. It is also a little unfair perhaps to even compare a butter scone to a cream scone–it is my contention the cream scone will win every time.

So maybe it has occurred to you to wonder how I served the scones so fresh since I was not hosting? That is the other beauty of scones: they freeze really well. I made them the day before, froze them, and took them over to the hostess’s home, including extra equipment she did not have (an extra cookie sheet, parchment paper, etc). That way they were served hot out of the oven.

Thanks to Donna, our hostess, who took the photos for me.

Starbucks Pumpkin Scones
Adapted from CLBB

2 cups AP flour
7 T granulated sugar
1 T baking powder
1/2 t salt
1/2 t ground cinnamon
1/2 t ground nutmeg
1/4 t ground cloves
1/4 t ground ginger
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
3 T half-and-half
1 large egg
6 T cold butter
melted butter, about 2 T, and coarse sugar for brushing onto scones before baking

Preheat oven to 425F.

Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger in a large bowl. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together pumpkin, half-and-half, and egg.

Cut butter into cubes then add to dry ingredients. Use a pastry knife or a fork to combine butter with dry ingredients. Continue mixing until only very small chunks of butter are visible.

Fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients, then form the dough into a ball and knead once or twice. Split dough in half and pat each dough into a circle about 6-7 inches in diameter. Using a dough scraper (or large knife), slice each circle into 6 wedges. You may freeze them on parchment paper at this point if you wish.

Brush each scones with melted butter and sprinkle with coarse sugar. Bake for 14-16 minutes on a baking sheet that has been lightly oiled or lined with parchment paper. Scones should begin to turn light brown. Cool slightly before serving.

Lemon Cream Scones
Adapted from Bon Appetit

2 cups AP flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 T baking powder
1/2 t salt
3/4 cup dried fruit, chopped if large (I used cranberries)
1 T plus 1 t grated lemon peel
1 1/4 cups whipping cream
3 T unsalted butter, melted
coarse sugar for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 425°F.

Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Stir in dried fruit and lemon peel. Add whipping cream and stir just until dough forms. Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface. Knead gently just until dough holds together (2-3 folds). Split dough in half. Pat each half into rounds 6-7 inches in diameter. Using a dough scraper (or a large chef’s knife), cut each circle into 6 wedges. You may freeze the scones at this point.

Transfer wedges to large baking sheet, spacing evenly. Brush the cones with melted butter and sprinkle with coarse sugar. Bake scones until light golden brown, about 15 minutes. Transfer to rack and cool slightly.