Oatmeal Raisin Scones
Recipe courtesy Gale Gand, Levain Bakery
Delicious when eaten warm, scones are also served cold with a variety of toppings including clotted cream, marmalade, jams, honey, and fruit butters. Also try them with Honey Butter. These come out crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside, with a nice crunchy texture from the oats.
(1/2 recipe makes 6 scones)
3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for the counter
2 1/2 cups rolled oats
3/4 cup white sugar
2 tablespoons baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
12 ounces sweet butter - cold and diced small
1 cup golden raisins
1 1/2 cups half-and-half
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Combine everything except the half-and-half until just combined. Do not over mix. (Mixture will not be creamed, just mixed together.)
Quickly pour in 1 1/4 cups of the half-and-half while mixing quickly. If the dough appears at all dry add the remaining 1/4 cups of half & half until just combined. Again, do not over mix.
Another recipe suggested: "Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Use a wooden spoon to stir it together until it forms a shaggy dough. Coat your hands with flour and finish kneading the dough in as few strokes as possible. (Overworking the dough makes for a tough scone.) Use your hands to fold the dough on top of itself, creating more and more layers until it has come together and all the flour is incorporated. [This is a technique often used with Baking Powder Biscuits.] You can add a tablespoon or two of ice cold water if you think it’s necessary. I try to get the dough to come together in 5-8 folds."
- https://thefoodcharlatan.com/scones/
Turn the dough out onto a very well floured surface. If the dough is very sticky, flour the top of the dough also. Pat the mixture into a layer 3/4 to 1-inch thick. Using a 2-inch diameter round cutter, cut out the scones, dipping the cutter into flour each time between cuts. (You can also form dough into rectangular shape and cut with a knife into 12 square or triangle scones.)
Place each scone, as cut, onto a parchment paper covered sheet pan leaving 2 to 3 inches between each scone. This should make 12 round scones.
Bake for about 18 minutes or until golden brown on both the top and bottom of scones.
Yield: 12 scones
