Rhubarb Scones

glazed rhubarb scones

I am about as much a fan of scones as I am of humus. Again, a texture thing... dry and coarse is not my cup of tea -- even when dunked in said tea. If you share my distaste, read on because I've developed a scone that doesn't require dunking to get it down your throat.

One of the fun things about sharing food with people is the way they reciprocate, sometimes it's moose or venison, others it might be some home brewed sake, you just never know. For me the fun is finding way to use and share whatever friends send my way. Recently, after some goodies were sent his way, my work son, Andrew, delivered the mother load of rhubarb to my desk. After debating rhubarb pie, coffee cake, cobbler, or the pudding I made last spring, I wanted something different and easy to share without the need for forks and plates etc. I got it in my head that I would create the perfect scone.......

Scones are typically pretty basic as far as ingredients, flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, butter, milk, and in some recipes eggs -- not so different from most baked goodies, yet the proportions of those ingredients keep the dough dry and shaggy and the finished product , in my opinion, an acquired taste.

I gave some thought to what might lighten the dough while maintaining the texture that you get from the shagginess'. I decided that heavy whipping cream and some Greek yogurt were the way to go, then to take it one step further, whisked some lemon juice into the cream to create a buttermilk substitute.

From everything I've read, the one of the keys to good scones is to not over handle or over bake the dough. To that end I whisked all the dry ingredients together and then used the food processor to combine the cubed (almost frozen ) butter until it was that cornmeal texture that we hear about for pie crusts.

In a large bowl (that I forgot to photograph) is combined the heavy cream and lemon juice and let it sit for 10 minutes. I whisked in the egg, vanilla, and yogurt once the cream was good and curdled.

In the biggest stainless bowl that I have, I used a wooden fork to blend the wet ingredients with the dry. Once the dough had come together, I folded in the chopped rhubarb with the fork and a couple of bench scrapers. Keeping the butter cold and minimizing heat and oil from my hands was the intent. when I did touch the dough it was quickly and with well floured hands.

In sections I rolled / patted the dough into 1/2" thick circles, cut the wedges with the bench scraper and used the blade to transfer the cut scones to a silicone lined baking sheet.

I opted for a 400 degree oven and set the timer for 15 minutes; apparently it's sacrilege to bake a scone for more than 16 minutes, so at 15 I have a minute of leeway in case they weren't done enough. I ended up using that extra minute, but probably they would have been fine at 15 minutes.

My dryness paranoia go the best of me so I decided on some insurance with a rhubarb glaze. While the scones were baking I cooked up some more minced rhubarb with sugar and water and let it simmer until the rhubarb was very tender. Then it was into the blender to puree, pressed through a metal strainer, and the strained puree mixed with powdered sugar until it felt right (don't worry, I measured for the sake of this post).

Once the scones had cooled a bit, I spread the glaze and let it harden at room temperature. They were yummy and didn't really need the glaze for moisture. The recipe I'm sharing is for about a dozen scones -- depending on the size of your circle and how big you cut the wedges. I doubled it with no problem and it yielded about 24.

THE RECIPE:

For the scones

1/4 C heavy cream

2 T lemon juice

2-1/4 C flour

1/3 C brown sugar

1/2 t salt

1T baking powder

1 stick butter frozen and then cut into 1/4" cubes

1/3 C full milk fat Greek yogurt

1 egg beaten

2t vanilla

1 C diced rhubarb

Combine the heavy cream and lemon juice in a medium sized bowl and set aside

Whisk the flour, sugar, salt and powder together, or pulse together in a food processor

Add the butter cubes to the processor and pulse repeating until the flour moisture resembles corn meal (a pastry blender will work if you don't have a processor)

Dump the four mixture into a large mixing bowl

Whisk the egg, yogurt and vanilla into the heavy cream 'buttermilk' until well blended.

Using anything but your hands, blend the liquid mix into the flour until its combined but still shaggy

Fold in the rhubarb

Preheat the over to 400 degrees

In small batches with well floured hands on a well floured surface, roll and or press the dough into circles at about 1/2" thick and cut into wedges

Transfer wedges to a silicone or parchment lined baking sheet

Bake for 15 or 16 minutes until golden

Set the scones on a wire rack to cool

For the glaze

1/2 C minced rhubarb

2T sugar

2T water

2T lemon juice

1 C powdered sugar

Combine rhubarb, sugar, water, and lemon juice in a sauce pan and simmer until the rhubarb is very tender -- actually totally mushy is perfect!

Let the rhubarb cool a bit and puree in a blender.

Over a bowl, press the pureed rhubarb through a metal mesh strainer

Add the powdered sugar to the strained puree and whisk or beat it until its smooth and creamy.

Brush the glaze onto each scone

Let the glaze set before serving or storing in an air tight container.

Thought for food.... I'm planning on other ingredients in place of the rhubarb; candied ginger, chocolate, or savories like a mix of cheddar, sun dried tomato, and chili peppers are bubbling in my brain. More to come.....