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Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Strawberry Scones

My husband and I went to Durham, NC this past weekend to attend the UNC/Duke game (it was my wedding gift to him), and while we were up there I wanted to find some great local restaurants to enjoy.  It's not that I dislike chain restaurants, but rather I like to try out places that can't be accessed anywhere else.

This desire led us to Foster's Market.  Sara Foster is the woman behind 2 stores by the name, with one store being in Durham and the other a short drive away in Chapel Hill.  I was checking out restaurants on Yelp and read that Sara Foster used to be the head of Martha Stewart's catering company.  Yep, count me in.

Foster's is a quaint little store with a slightly rustic feel.  It's one of those places where you immediately know the second you walk in that every single thing on their menu must be superb.  Only local, fresh produce is used and the menu adapts based on what's in season.

After Trey and I enjoyed our sandwich and chicken wrap for lunch (they were both divine, by the way) I asked if he would like something for dessert.  That's basically my way of saying "Okay, I'm getting something for dessert and I'd like for you to order something too so that I don't feel bad for indulging on my own".  He obliged and asked for me to pick him something out.

I settled on their German chocolate cake and a chocolate chip cookie (these were divine as well).  But while I was at the counter I noticed their array of homemade scones.  Believe it or not I've never eaten a scone.  I've admired them from the Starbucks display from time to time when I go for a coffee, but have never ventured out enough to actually eat one.  When I mentioned this to Trey he commented that he didn't even know what a scone was.  Oh dear.  As a food blogger, this means I must be failing as a wife.

I decided to change this and whipped up a batch of scones from my Foster's Market cookbook I purchased on the same trip.  We had a rather large batch of strawberries in the fridge so I decided to add these to the pastries as well.


Overall, I was pretty pleased with the way they turned out.  The recipe was easy and quick, the flavor and texture was fantastic, but the only thing slightly disappointing was that they didn't hold their shape as well as I would have liked.

I'm not sure if this was because of something I did (maybe the butter wasn't cold enough), but I'm going to experiment and see if I can come up with a solution...that just means I'll have to make them again :)

Below is just a basic scone recipe, so feel free to dress this up to suit your taste.  Make them with cinnamon and sugar, blueberries, lemon.....the options are endless!

Foster's Scones adapted from The Foster's Market Cookbook
4 1/2 C all purpose flour
1/2 C sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 lb (3 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4 inch slices
1 1/4 C plus 2 Tbsp buttermilk
Egg wash: 1 large egg beaten with 2 Tbsp milk

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Prepare two baking sheets by lightly greasing.  Set aside.

In large bowl stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  Using a pastry cutter, cut in pieces of butter.  Work butter into flour mixture until it resembles coarse meal.
*Make sure not to overwork the dough....doing so will make it tough versus light and fluffy.

The flour mixture was a bit messy

Perfectly fresh and ripe...loved their vibrant color

If you want to add anything into the scones do so at this point (before adding the milk).  I hulled and diced enough strawberries to make two cups.  Toss ingredients to coat in flour mixture.


Add almost all of the buttermilk (you may not need it all).  The dough should begin to get sticky and should stay together.  Add the remainder of the buttermilk if the dough seems dry.

Turn dough out onto floured surface.  Shape into two 6-inch rounds.  Each round should be approximately 1 1/2 inches in thickness.  Cut each round in half, and then cut each half into 3 triangles.




Place triangles on baking sheets and brush with egg wash.  Bake 30-35 minutes.  Scones should be golden brown and firm to touch.

Brush gently with egg wash


Remove from oven and serve immediately.

2 comments:

  1. These scones look so appetizing and gorgeous! Bravo. Well done.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Tia! I've never made scones before, but they were much easier than I was anticipating. You should check out the Foster's Market book ~ their recipes are to die for!!

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