The Weekly Kitchen: When is a Scone not a Scone?
By ANGELA MCRAE, Special to The Weekly
Some years ago, I was in a local antique mall when I came across an undated but definitely vintage cookbook from the Sandy Springs Garden Club here in Georgia. The sage-green cover was softly faded, and the white comb binding was reminiscent of so many other beloved community cookbooks that have been published.
The book was titled From the Garden to the Kitchen, and it included a chapter on Beverages and Tea Time. It also had a unique recipe for what they called English Tea Scones. I could tell immediately that these were not, in fact, the famous British scones, which are more like our biscuits here in America. Scone makers may differ on whether scones should be round or wedge-shaped, but few of them would ever use the word “scone” to describe what is basically a flat little hand pie. So these treats are what you might call baked fried pies. And even though they aren’t scones at all, I do think they make a great sweet treat or afternoon snack!
I was intrigued by the recipe’s four ingredients, which are simply butter, cream cheese, flour, and jam or preserves. Could this possibly work? I prepared the dough and rolled it into walnut-sized pieces, then they—and I—chilled for two hours.
I’ve made these “scones” with strawberry and blueberry jam, lemon curd, and even fig preserves, all with great results. My favorite part of making these tasty little pastries is fluting the edges with a fork. I do want to note that some jams are runnier when baked, so when using the strawberry jam, for instance, I adjusted the amount of jam from 1 teaspoon to 1/2 teaspoon, and that works out perfectly for some of the other fillings as well.
What surprised me most was how flaky the “scone’s” crust was! The lemon curd flavor is my favorite, and it’s absolutely the perfect choice for teatime. Still, I see no reason you can’t make these with seasonal flavors of your favorite jam at any time of year. I hope you enjoy making them as much as I do!
Sandy Springs Garden Club English Tea Scones
1 stick unsalted butter
1 (3-ounce) package cream cheese
1 cup all-purpose flour
For filling: Small amounts of jam, preserves, or lemon curd
Allow butter and cream cheese to reach room temperature or warm in microwave for a few seconds. Combine butter and cream cheese with flour and roll into walnut-sized balls. Place on wax paper and let chill in refrigerator for 2 hours. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Then, roll out each piece of dough into a circle about 3 to 3-1/2 inches in diameter. Add 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of desired filling to center of dough, fold over, and crimp edges with a fork. Bake on parchment-lined cookie sheet for 10-12 minutes, just until edges begin to brown. Cool slightly before serving. Yields 15 English Tea Scones.
Angela McRae is a freelance writer and editor from Newnan, and you can find out more about her work at angelamcrae.com. Email questions and comments to her at [email protected].
