For recent tea purposes I made two types of scone: ham and cheddar, and cranberry orange. I used the recipe Gloria last tried, with the following variations!
Ham and cheddar: Only 2 Tbs of sugar, because of the savory. N.b. the recipe only calls for 1/2 tsp of salt; this is not to be ignored – I added a few grinds of sea salt but it really didn’t need it. After cutting in the butter and before adding the cream, I added about 1/3 cup chopped lunchmeat ham, and about 1/2 cup finely grated smooth English cheddar with jalepenos in. I think using a rich but less sharp cheddar was key; the jalepenos weren’t really prominent enough to add much. In the future I might toss in some finely-chopped scallions as Gloria did. These came out super moist because of the cheese, and are my new favorite breakfast.
Cranberry orange: After cutting in butter and before the cream, I added ~1/2 cup cranberries and the zest of half a medium-sized orange. I also topped the glaze with more zest. Orange zest: the best.
The glaze: For both, even the savory ham-and-cheddar, I used the glaze from Joy of Cooking’s scone recipe. Whisk an egg. Maybe add a little cold water if it’s thick, and brush over the top of your beautifully triangular scones (triangles are key.) Sprinkle sugar on liberally. Delicious!
On attaining flakiness: The reason you cut the butter in is that you need it mixed, but not melted, so that when you bake it the butter melts and light, flaky pastry results (also why you use very cold ingredients for pie crusts.) Thus, chill the butter till right before use. A pastry blender is ideal for cutting it in because it is cold, heartless metal, unlike your hands, which melt things. I had to use my hands this time, but I ran them under cold water first, which I think helped. Handle the dough as little as possible while shaping, too.
I’m also a fan of Alton Brown’s scone recipe, but it requires you to have shortening on hand, and shortening is gross. Before that I used the one in Joy of Cooking, which makes arguably more traditional yet drier scones.
[...] at once, so the next day I made scones, using my current favorite recipe (via Smitten Kitchen, with modifications here), only lemon-zest-and-cranberry this time (I had no oranges). A nice thing I’d forgotten [...]