

My most joyful scone-eating experience was not at the Waldorf in London, although I have eaten them there. Scones, to me, taste best served up in foil at a fire’s edge in a Kootenay winter. There, I often rode horses with a wiry, white-haired witty fellow of whom who’s name I cannot recall. He leased acreage from Kimberley mine and there had an old barn, an appaloosa, and a quarterhorse. We tacked up in WWII cavalry saddles and set out. At mid-day, we’d build a fire. He’d make Camp coffee. It’s a bottled coffee extract that you add to hot water. I would bring foil-wrapped baked scones, sliced in half and stuffed with thick slices of sharp cheddar and thin rings of raw onion. The foiled package sat at the fire’s edge for a bit. There’s not much finer than a warm scone, a fire in winter, a tin cup of coffee, and a pair of horses nearby stomping at the snow.
2 cups White Flour
1 Tbsp. Baking Powder
1 Tbsp. Sugar
¼ cup Butter
2 Eggs
1/3 cup Milk
Preheat oven to 450F.
Mix dry ingredients together. Cut in butter, little nips with a knife, then rub in with your fingertips until the mix is crumb-like. In a separate bowl, beat eggs and milk together. Make a well in the dry mix, add the wet mix, and stir until mix binds. Turn out onto a floured board and pat into a ¾ inch thick round. Score ¼” deep into 8 pie-like sections. As the scone bakes, the slashes with spread apart so don’t go too deep. Now there’s a few ways to address the top. You can brush it with just a little milk, or brush it with a beaten egg then sprinkle a bit of sugar ontop.
Bake for 12-15 minutes. Sometimes, I’ll rub a bit of butter on top when it comes out of the oven.
Variations;
Cheese n’ Herb – Add 1 Tbsp. of your favorite Fresh Herb or 1 tsp. of dried. Decrease sugar to 1 tsp. Cut in ½ cup of sharp cheddar when you’re cutting in the butter.
Dried Fruit – Stir in ½ cup of chopped dried apricots or raisins. Increase sugar to 2 Tbsp.
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