Prize Winning Cinnamon Scones
I crave that prize-winning recipe that the Booth sisters shared with Hayley-as you may crave it by now as well! This recipe is my closest approximation. I cannot vouch for how close it comes to the prize winner, but it's awfully good. There seem to be several secrets to making light scones. Freeze and grate the butter. Work the dough as little as possible. And keep it cold in between steps.
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2½ tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon (don't skimp on quality here the author recommended using Penzeys)
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, frozen (the author recommended Irish Kerrygold)
- ½ cup heavy cream (plus 2 T. for brushing)
- ½ cup packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
For the icing
- 1 cup confectioner's sugar
- 3 Tbsp freshly-brewed coffee
- ¼ tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Mix together the flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.
- Grate the frozen butter onto a plate.
- Rub the butter into the dry ingredients using your fingers or a pastry cutter, until the butter is the size of peas.
- In another bowl, whisk together the heavy cream, vanilla, egg, and brown sugar.
- Mix this lightly into the flour and butter mixture.
- On a piece of parchment paper or silicone baking mat, shape the dough into a disk, and with a floured knife cut the disk into eight triangles.
- Put the scone dough back into the refrigerator while the oven heats to 400°.
- Move the parchment or silicone baking mat with the scones onto a baking sheet. Paint the scone tops with the remaining cream and sprinkle them with sugar.
- Bake the scones for 20-22 minutes until they begin to brown.
You could serve them as is, but why leave off the killer icing?
- For the icing, whisk the confectioner's sugar with coffee and vanilla until smooth. If you don't like the idea of coffee, you could substitute milk. But honestly, that hint of coffee is amazing!
- When the scones have cooled, drizzle them with icing. (You will probably have leftovers, which can be used on your next batch. Or eaten with a spoon-just sayin'...)
- We froze the extras that weren't eaten on the spot, and they were delicious when defrosted.