Chocolate Peppermint Scones Recipe (video) (2024)

FAQs

Why do you brush scones with milk? ›

Brushing scones with milk or cream before baking yields a golden crust. For deeper color and added shine, brush with egg wash: 1 whole egg mixed with 1 tablespoon water and a pinch of salt.

Why do English scones split/crack nicely in the middle after baking? The minimal working of the dough after adding liquid, and then patting / rolling it out before cutting the scones, means that layers extend horizontally through the uncooked scone.

How to make scones rise high? Once you've cut out your scone shapes, flip them over and place upside down on the baking tray. This will help them rise evenly and counteract any 'squashing' that happened when you cut out the dough. Perfect scones should rise to about 2 inches high.

Scones placed close together on the baking tray will rise higher and more evenly (they are very 'supportive' by nature!) than those spaced out. 1-2cm between each works well. It's a wrap. For soft-crusted scones wrap them in a tea towel while still warm.

Many of you eager bakers will already know that using super cold, chilled butter means a much better resulting scone texture, (cold butter prevents the butter from melting before the scones are baked, and will help you achieve a lighter crumb), But, Elisa suggests you can even use frozen butter, grated into your flour.

Recipes for scones sometimes provide a make-ahead option that involves refrigerating the dough overnight so it can simply be shaped and then popped into the oven the next day. But now we've found that resting the dough overnight has another benefit: It makes for more symmetrical and attractive pastries.

Get Flaky Scones with COLD Butter

Butter must be COLD from the very start to when the dough enters the oven. The cold butter melts upon entering the oven and the water content in butter evaporates in steam. As the steam escapes, it bursts up and creates that beautiful tall, flaky, fluffy texture.

The mix should be moist, and while it should come out of the mixing bowl clean, expect it to leave your fingers a little sticky. Scone mix is far wetter than a dough – it's somewhere between a batter and a dough. Only lightly flour your work surface to avoid incorporating extra flour into the dough.

We recommend using all-purpose flour. There is some debate as to what flour one should use to go around achieving the perfect scone. This is because within different flours comes different levels of protein.

How unhealthy is a scone? ›

fattening. A Food Standards Agency (FSA) report has found that the average scone contains 408 calories, with the best – sorry, most fattening – clocking up a remarkable 756 calories and 39.2g of sugar. Add jam and cream to the largest scone tested, and you are talking more than 900 calories.

Finally, we have some clarity on the issue, as it's revealed how the Queen takes her scones. An exemplar of British traditions, the Queen reportedly prefers jam first, according to a former chef who worked for the royal family from 1982 to 1993.

"Once you've shaped your scones, chill them before baking," Youngman says. "You can use that time to preheat the oven so the kitchen doesn't heat up while you make the dough. The final chill relaxes the gluten which yields a tender texture.

Why should you stir batter for scones with a knife and not a spoon? You aren't stirring it, you're cutting the butter into the flour to coat, or shorten, the gluten strands with fat. This makes your scones tender.

Scones can be made either with self-raising flour or with plain flour and baking powder. Sweet scones and cheese scones have an egg added to enrich them. Both will rise but whatever scone you make its important that they are handled lightly and not rolled too thinly.

MILK: Brushing with milk will help to color the crust, the sugars in the milk helping to brown it.

Place the scones, spaced, on the baking sheet. Brush the tops with a little milk and bake in the preheated oven for about 10 minutes, or until a pale golden brown. Remove from the baking sheet and leave to cool on a wire rack.