Ginger Pecan Scones

Ginger Pecan Scones

Scones require a “biscuit hand” which is to say that you must handle them as little as possible and work with very cold ingredients

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Oven to 450 degrees

Ingredients

2 cups all purpose flour

3 TBSP sugar

1 TBSP baking powder

½ tsp salt

5 TBSP unsalted FROZEN butter

½ cup chopped pecans

¼ cup chopped candied ginger

1 cup cream

1 TBSP sugar for tops

Instructions

Add flour, sugar, baking powder and salt to mixing bowl. 

Stir dry ingredients together. 

Grate FROZEN butter into mixing bowl with flour.

Add nuts and ginger to bowl and mix it all up.

Make sure that the butter shavings are all separated and covered in the flour mixture.

Make a well in bowl and add cream.

Using a large mixing fork, move flour into cream until all the flour mixture is wet.  NOT TOO MUCH!

Dump mixture onto cold floured surface.  I use my granite counter top.

Push together dough until it forms a solid flat mass about an inch high.

Fold dough into thirds three times.  Visually divide dough mass into three parts.  Fold the left side to the center and then take the right third and fold it onto the top.   Flatten dough again and repeat twice more.

Form the last fold into an oblong rectangle.  Start at the center of the mass and mark out three inch spaces along the dough.  Using the lines cut a diagonal from one straight line to the next and then the straight lines.  You’ll end up with triangles of dough to put on parchment paper.

Brush the tops with an egg wash and then take a TBSP of sugar and sprinkle over the top of the scones.

Bake for 12 to fifteen minutes in the middle of your oven.  Don’t overcook them!

They are so good hot with some tea and jam….

Variation:

Leave out the pecans and ginger and get a cup of frozen blueberries and incorporate a third of them into the middle of the folds for each of the three sequences of folds.