A note: We are working on an equally tasty vegan version of our scones. The recipe we are providing here is for our non-vegan, rich scones.
Honestly, we believe that the most beneficial diet for the planet's health is a whole foods vegan diet and our scones are neither vegan nor whole grains. Vegan diets save the emissions from the equivalent of 12,000 miles driven per year by a vehicle getting approximate 22 miles to the gallon. Nevertheless, we offer this recipe and ask those readers who use it to also try a whole foods vegan lifestyle one or more days a week. Just one day a week is equivalent to saving the emissions from 1,700 miles each year.
This is our most often requested recipe and is based on traditional English scone recipes. We use all organic ingredients and have found that ingredients make a huge difference.
Experiment: When we first worked on the recipe we found that the scones flowed across the baking sheet. Too much butter - and we reduced the butter by a quarter. The difference we believe was the amount and quaslity of butterfat in the organic butter we used. In those days, we could not get Strauss Organic Butter on the Mendocino Coast and when a supplier added Strauss we switched and again had to use about 3/4ths the amount of butter we had been using. Ingredients make a huge difference. Bear that in mind when preparing this recipe.
Ingredients and Procedure
1. Mix the following dry ingredients
4 ¼ cups all purpose organic flour
¾ cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 ¼ teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
2. Cut in with two knives or a pastry blender
¾ pound organic butter, cut into small squares
(When you’re finished with this process, your mixture should look like small peas.)
3. Mix the following wet ingredients in a separate bowl or container
½ cup buttermilk (may need a bit more)
½ cup cream (may need a bit more)
1 egg, beaten
Splash vanilla
4. With swift, quick strokes, fold the wet mixture into the dry mix. Do not over mix.
Assembly
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
1. Place mixture on a lightly floured surface and press together without over working the dough.
2. Flatten with a rolling pin into a rectangle. Fold dough into thirds, like you would fold a letter. Add one cup of fruit of your choice. Roll and fold two more times.
3. Splash buttermilk or cream on top, brush evenly, then sprinkle with sugar.
4. Cut into triangles and bake in a 350 degree oven until golden brown, approximately 30 to 40 minutes.
Makes 16 scones