Hobbit “Second Breakfast” Scones
16 Large Scones
Ingredients:
3 cups all-purpose flour (plus ¼ cup more for dusting the rolling surface and shaping the scones)
4 Tbsp white sugar
2 Tbsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
1 tsp fine sea salt
2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp Chinese five-spice
1 large Granny Smith apple, cored and cut into a small dice (no need to peel)
1 ½ cups fresh cranberries
1 large carrot, grated with a box grater or food processor
1 cup whole pecans, toasted and then coarsely chopped
1 large ripe orange (zest in the scones and juice in the icing)
9 Tbsp cold unsalted butter
1 ½ cups very cold buttermilk
Dusting of coarse cornmeal for the baking sheet
1 large egg – for the egg wash before baking
2 cups confectionary sugar (and a dash of fine sea salt)
2 tsp vanilla paste
1) Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2) Line a sheet pan with a piece of parchment paper and lightly dust with coarse cornmeal.
3) Toast the pecans, let cool and then coarsely chop.
4) Grate the carrot with the large side of box grater (or in your food processor).
5) Core and coarsely chop the apple.
6) Whisk together the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder and soda, salt and spices). Zest the orange and whisk the zest into the mixed dry ingredients.
7) With the same box grater, grate 9 Tbsp very cold butter directly onto the dry mix.
8) Cut in the butter with your fingers (or a pastry cutter) until only small pieces remain.
9) Make a well in the dry and pour in the cold buttermilk. Then fold in the apple, carrot, cranberries and pecans. Gather the dough together with your hands until all is moistened and forms a loose ball.
10) On a lightly floured surface, cut the dough into four equal portions and round each portion into a dome. Cut each of the four domes into four triangles – I use my bench scraper for this task. Place each of the sixteen triangles onto the prepared sheet pan. Whisk the one egg with one Tbsp water and then brush the tops of the scones with the egg wash.
11) Bake in the 400-degree oven for 13 minutes. Rotate the pan and bake for another 7-9 minutes until the scones feel firm and are golden brown. To increase the browning, turn your oven to broil for 2 additional minutes. (Be sure watch during this step!)
12) Remove the scones from the oven and let cool on a wire rack. While the scones are cooling, whisk the confectionary sugar (and a dash of fine sea salt) with the juice of ½ of the orange and 2 tsp of vanilla paste. Drizzle the icing over the scones when they are cool to the touch.
