I started making a scone recipe thinking a scone recipe couldn’t be too hard. I make a great cake, a great muffin and a TON of cookies that are great. So how hard could scones be?? Turns out I was wrong. Scones were harder to crack than I thought. And millions of recipes out there all do something different to make a scone. Doesn’t it seem like a scone is a scone?

Then I started cooking scones. A scone is not a scone. The first few batches tasted good, but boy were they ugly. And they could not replicate easily. So I kept going.

Turns out freezing butter is a big trend in the scone world. Do you know how hard it is to work with frozen butter?? And it does not stay frozen very long once you start working with it. It seemed to me that the idea of baking from cold - with cold butter - was the critical part of keeping things flaky and tender. Frozen, whipped, chilled, room temp, melted; I tried them all.

And then I arrived here! Cold butter is critical and then refrigerating the dough keeps the scones from spreading and losing their shape.

Since strawberries are just coming into season right now, this is the first fruit I tried with them. Over the summer I’m going to work on raspberries, blueberries, etc. and we’ll see if we can make these an ‘every fruit’ scone - which is the goal!

The Very Best Strawberry Scones

makes 8

1/2 cup milk

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 cup grated butter (very cold)

1/2 cup chopped strawberries

1/2 teaspoon cornstarch

1 egg yolk, beaten

turbinado sugar

STEP 1

Mix together the milk, egg and vanilla and set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer or a large mixing bowl, combine together the flour, sugar and baking powder.

STEP 2

Blend the milk mixture into the flour mixture until loosely combined. Remove the bowl from the stand and add the butter. With your hands, fold the butter in by kneading the dough until the flour and butter are completely integrated. Use as few kneads as possible. Don’t overwork the dough!

STEP 3

Toss together the strawberries with the cornstarch. Fold them into the dough with three or four turns. Form into a 10 inch circle on a floured cutting board and pop in the fridge. Let it chill for at least one hour or up to overnight.

STEP 4

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Remove the scones from the fridge and cut into eight triangles. Brush the top of each one with egg yolk and sprinkle with the turbinado sugar. Bake 20 minutes until golden brown on the edges. Let cool slightly before serving.

Tell me what you want to see in a scone? Have you had a good one somewhere that we should recreate?

---

Cheers to brunch

Toast with an espresso martini! And really kick up the morning.

Mother’s Day at our house is almost always the same; we go to the Pike Place Market, buy flowers, doughnuts, and walk the market. Then we’ll pop into one of my favorite restaurants where Mr. Hedin has never made a reservation and still every year we manage to get into the brunch service and have a marvelous time.

Often we’ll pick up something for dinner while we’re there before we head home. We’ve been known to host a dinner in the evening for friends and family. This year we’ll still not be living in our real house so I’m not sure what will happen this year.

If your plans are also up in the air, try hosting a fabulously simple brunch that your kids could even make for you! Have them watch the video below and they can make it for you! Don’t forget to tag #weeknightsociety on Instagram if you make something so I can see how fabulously it turns out!

HAM & CHEESE PUFFS

serves 4

STEP 1

Preheat oven to 350. Roll out puff pastry and cut each sheet into 4 pieces 

STEP 2

Divide ham and cheese on top of the pastry.  

STEP 3

Beat the egg yolk and milk together and brush the edges of the pastry with the egg yolk mixture. 

STEP 4

Bring up the pastry corners and pinch them together.  Pinch down the sides where the egg wash is painted on.  

STEP 5

Brush the tops of the pastry with beaten egg yolk.  Bake 10 mins until cheese is bubbly

STEP 6

In a jar or a small bowl combine mustard, honey, olive oil, vinegar, and parsley.  Shake vigorously.  

½ lb ham, cut into cubes

8 oz gruyere cheese, cut into cubes

2 sheets puff pastry, defrosted

1 egg yolk, beaten

2 tbs milk

4 cups mixed greens

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon honey

¼ cup red wine vinegar

1 tablespoon chopped parsley

½ cup olive oil

When you’re creating a super simple brunch like this, then don’t bother cooking a dessert yourself - especially when Trophy Cupcakes can do such a marvelous job. The new featured flavor for Mother’s Day is Lemon Raspberry Rose - is anything more heavenly than rose scented buttercream??? No. No, there isn’t.

And for a simple cocktail, combine chilled champagne + chambord in a cocktail glass and pop in a raspberry.

Whether you’re a mother, a step-mother, a god-mother, or a child of a mother - I hope you have a wonderful day.

Pin this for later!