I’m a strawberry fanatic.  I can’t help but pick up a package of strawberries every time I go to the store, even if I already have some at home.  Sometimes I find myself drowning in strawberries.  This wouldn’t be such a bad thing, but even at the peak of strawberry season I still get a batch that’s just too sour to eat.  Some I end up freezing, and others I try to turn into something else.  That something else happens to be some awesome scones.  I’m not sure why I picked scones instead of muffins.  I think I prefer biscuits over cakes, and scones are more akin to the former.  And I like that scones aren’t necessarily all that sweet.  I came across a blogger who seemed pretty serious about her scones.  I decided to try out her recipe and was really pleased with the results.

A previous recipe I tried had only cream and no butter.  It was simple enough but something was missing.  This recipe uses both with a generous helping of baking powder.  I think its the good amount of cinnamon that adds great, but subtle flavor.

When working with any type of biscuit like dough, it’s really important to keep all your ingredients really cold, from the butter, cream, and eggs.  It keeps the texture as flakey as possible.  

Once you get your dough together (remember not to overwork and over mix the dough!), combine with your macerated strawberries.

Divide your dough into 4 equal sized discs.

I didn’t have space in my freezer to chill my dough (as the original recipe instructs), so I just put it in the fridge.  Chilling just makes the dough easier to handle.  After an hour or two, the dough is ready to be cut into quarters.

They look dry, but they are far from it.

The original recipe finishes the scones off with a sweet glaze, but I skipped this step.  I was going for something light.

Strawberry Cream Scones
Adapted from Displaced Housewife
Makes 16 scones

16oz package of strawberries, cleaned and chopped (~2 cups)
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups cake flour
1 cup plus 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut in 8 pieces, cold
2/3-3/4 cup heavy whipping cream, cold
1 large egg, cold

1.  In a small bowl combine your chopped strawberries, lemon juice and granulated sugar. Stir periodically.
2. In a medium-size bowl, whisk together the cake flour, flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and sea salt.
3. Cut the chilled butter into the flour mixture using a pastry blender, two forks or your hands.
4. Mix the egg and 2/3-3/4 cup of cream together in a small bowl and then drizzle over the flour mixture. Using a fork, stir until it just starts to form a cohesive mass.
5. Strain your strawberries, pressing out any excess moisture.
6. Fold half of the dough onto itself and press down so that the berries are in the middle. Grab any rogue strawberries, set them on top of the dough heap and repeat the process until it looks just mixed. The addition of fresh fruit will make the dough a bit sticky.
7. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silpat. Lightly dust with flour.
8. Lightly flour a surface (cutting board or clean countertop) and separate the dough into four equal-size lumps. Mold each lump into a disc, about an inch and a half thick, with nice, crisp 90-degree angled sides.  Set the discs onto the parchment-covered baking sheet.
9. Pop the discs, uncovered, into the fridge for 1-2 hours.   This will make them easier to handle.
10. Pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees F and make sure you have a rack in the top third of the oven.
11. Cut each disc into four, equal-size scones.  Pull the scones out at least two inches from one another.
12. Bake the scones for 15 minutes.

The final product is not quite as dense or dry as your usual scone.  It’s somewhere between a scone and a muffin, like a “scuffin.”  It’s really quite a delicious treat since it’s not too sweet and very moist.  I imagine you could replace the strawberries with just about any fruit and still have a scrumptious product.  I think my quest for the perfect scone recipe is over.  I am quite happy with these treats which are good for breakfast, an afternoon snack, or even light dessert.