Cream Scones

Photo: flickr user Tomas Mascardo

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

teaspoon salt

cup cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

cup whipping cream

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1 tablespoon cream

Preparation

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and place rack in middle of oven. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Blend the butter pieces into the flour mixture until the texture is like coarse crumbs.

Whisk together the egg, cream and vanilla and add to the flour mixture. Mix just until the dough comes together, taking care to not over mix.

Transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead dough gently four or five times and then pat or roll the dough into a circle that is about 1 inch thick. With a 3 inch round cookie cutter, cut out rounds and place the scones on the baking sheet.

In a small bowl, lightly beat one egg and 1 tablespoon of cream, then brush the tops of the scones with the egg wash.

Bake for about 15 - 20 minutes or until nicely browned and a toothpick inserted in the center of a scone comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack.