We don't do a ton of baking, but we sometimes bake on the weekends or when it's especially worthwhile to get something unique and amazing. These scones are well worth the small amount of effort they take to produce, and they are so buttery that we don't put more butter on them when eating. The recipe uses ingredients that by and large most of us have on hand, but substitutions can be and often are made. We find that whole-milk real yogurt gives a wonderful taste, with the added advantage that there is a layer of cream on top of the yogurt; this is about as close to real English cream as we can get in the USA without importing things pasteurized in jars.
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
6 Tbsp cold butter diced into small cubes
half a cup or so of dried fruit such as blueberries, cranberries, cherries, or currants
3/4 cup whole-milk plain yogurt
1 large fresh chicken or duck egg
Preheat the oven to 375 F. Mix together the dry ingredients. Add butter cubes and cut them in with a pastry cutter or use your fingers to mash them into the flour. Do this quickly so the butter stays cold. Add fruit and stir well. Beat the egg into the yogurt and add the liquid ingredients to the dry. Work quickly to make a loose dough incorporating all the flour. Turn out onto a pastry mat or board and, after kneading a few times, flatten the dough until the round is about a foot wide and even thickness. Shore up the edges a bit and cut like a pizza into triangles, 8 or 12. Place onto a well greased baking sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes, until golden brown.
