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Raspberry Mega Scones Recipe
December 28, 2007 | by Heidi | Filed under Baked Goods Recipes, Breakfast / Brunch Recipes, Vegetarian Recipes
We're going to wrap up 2007 with a buttery-sweet bang. The theme: scones. I'm sure many of you will agree, a good scone recipe is an incredibly useful thing to have - crumbly sweet scones in the morning, savory scones dunked in soup later in the day. They're hard to beat. And while I'm sure plenty of you have baked scones, I'm betting very few of you have delved in the realm of the mega scone.
This is a recipe that came out of being one part lazy, and one part determined to come up with something just a little bit different. It goes something like this: roll your scone dough into a slab and instead of cutting scones into triangles or stamping them into shapes, slather the big slab with a generous scoop of chunky jam. Fold the dough inward, like you would a letter. The jam oozes out of the top seam as the big scone is baking, and after it comes out of the oven the pale golden top is brushed with a simple lemon icing that becomes perfectly crusty as the giant scone cools.
Broadly speaking this is a scone recipe that is slightly less fussy to make than cookie-cutter shaped scones, and more rustic out of the oven. People can slice off whatever size slice they like. I like them best after they've cooled for a few hours - and they are still plenty delicious the day after baking.
Raspberry Mega Scones Recipe
This particular scone recipe lends itself to endless combinations. I used raspberry jam here because of its color and flavor, but use whatever you have on hand - the chunkier the better. If you can't be bothered with making the glaze, just sprinkle some coarse raw sugar over the scone before baking after brushing with a bit of cream.
4 cups whole wheat pastry flour (or unbleached all-purpose flour)
3 tablespoons aluminum-free baking powder
1 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt
1 stick unsalted butter (4 oz), chilled and cut into 1/4-inch cubes
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/4 cups half-and-half ( or you can also use heavy cream or whole milk)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
zest of one lemon2/3 cups raspberry preserves
Glaze:
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
zest of one lemon
Preheat oven to 375. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat.
Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Using a food processor, cut the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles little pebbles in a beach of sandy flour (about 20 quick pulses). You can also cut the butter in using a knife and fork. Pulse in the sugar. Now add the half-and-half, vanilla extract, and lemon zest. Pulse (or mix until) dough just comes together - don't over mix, but if the batter is too dry add more cream a bit at a time.
Turn out onto a floured piece of parchment paper or Silpat mat, divide into two equal sized pieces of dough and set one aside. Take the first piece of dough and roll out into (roughly) a 9x9 inch square, 1/2-inch thick. You want to keep the dough from sticking to the mat/paper if possible, so sprinkle with more flour if needed. Slather the slab of dough with the jam and fold the left side of the dough in toward the center. To discourage the dough from breaking or falling apart I fold it in by folding the Silpat in and then peeling the Silpat back afterwards. Fold the other side in using the same technique (if I'm not making sense, see the photo). Slide onto prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the other piece of dough. The two scones will fit on one baking sheet but give them a few inches between each other so they don't bake into each other. Brush with a bit of cream (optional), and bake for about 25 minutes or until golden where the scones touch the pan.
While the scones are baking, prepare the glaze. Combine the powdered sugar, lemon juice, and lemon zest in a small bowl. Stir until well combined, and set aside. When the scones come out of the oven brush them generously with the glaze and let cool. Slice into pieces as big or small as you like.
Makes two mega scones.
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Your Comments
Snehal said:ooooh yummmmo! can't imagine how divine this would taste with cranberries or cranberry jam! Happy New Year Heidi!
Hmm.. sounds like I may have found a use for those jars of ginger preserves I bought a while back! Maybe a cardamom or allspice glaze, too.
As a raspberry fan, I can't imagine replacing any component of this recipe and look forward to trying it out.
Having never made scones before nor being much of a scone eater myself. I am feeling compelled to make these. They sound delicious and seem easy to make!
I literally just rolled out of bed and found this glorious recipe in my mailbox. I have hungry teens and their friends snoozing somwhere in the house who will soon wake up with grumbling bellies....and lucky me, I have all of the scone recipe ingredients in my kitchen. Time for some coffee and mega scone baking. Thanks.
Ah fantastic and well-timed! I've become rather picky about scones b/c a lot of the market-sold ones are awful, lacking both texture and flavor. This sounds like a fabulous blank tablet upon which to throw numberless flavors! Fun and yummy. Now THAT's cookin'! :-)
Great idea Heidi. I'm a scone fanatic & will be doing this. Thanks for more wonderful inspiration!
Heidi,
Looks like we will be bringing in the new year with a lovely treat! Love scones for guests but fussy cutting with a hangover is NOT my cup of tea. : ) We made peach preserve and I think it will work beautifully in this with a little raspberry for color.
Wow! And just in time for the late-Christmas mornings with relatives!
(I'm thinking about an apple-eggnog version on a cold foggy morning....Mm!)
Thank you, Hiedi!
As silly as it sounds, I've avoided scones for years because making that perfect scone shape is often more trouble than its worth (and I make decorated sugar cookies that take days to complete - it's totally inconsistent I know). This recipe has motivated me to revisit scones this weekend. Thank you!
Love your new twist (fold?) on scones. Can't wait to try these, especially with some savory fillings. I've made scones with white whole wheat flour before, but never whole wheat pastry flour. I bet they have a really nice crumb. Thanks for the recipe and Happy New Year!
En fin....scones are done, awake kids are fed, sleeping one will have a treat waiting.
One very minor glitch in the listed recipe - there is vanilla called for in the instructional portion, but none listed in the ingredient list. I added 1 tsp., but I might go for a bit more the next time around.
I used the white whole wheat flour I had on hand which gave the scones a hearty rustic quality that has so far been enjoyed by all, and homemade strawberry jam I received as a holiday gift. Many thanks for a cozy well-fed morning.
even your silipat is beautiful!
Okay, that does it. I'm going to bake something. Thanks for the inspiration and the need to run a 5k later on today!
Mary
scooones - how i love theeeee...
let me count thy ways
i love thee in the morning with my coffee
in the afternoon with tea
or for dinner all alone
these sound and look just perfect, heidi
(but after your madelines i am on a self professed baking ban)
An outstanding scone recipe Heidi. After trying both raspberry and strawberry jams, I have to say I like strawberry the best. I also used 2 tsp vanilla.
Thank you for the excellent recipes over the years. Don
Perfect for my weekend guests...I'm doing raspberry jam for sure!
Hey Heidi!
Awesome post. I've actually done something similar, except I didn't stop and cut the scones into triangles. I think thats where I went wrong. I used black currant preserves, so when the scones baked it turned into kind of a delicious mess. I think because of the moisture in the preserves the scones could not hold their shape.
They were still really good, and more like pie than scones. I think next time I'll follow your advice and leave it like a log. :)
PS - another great filling that I found was the poppy seed pastry filling from the can.
---Dan
I love how your being "lazy" turns into innovation. When I am lazy, it equals piles of laundry. I also love that you used the term Mega! Lazy scones here I come.
Sounds lovely! And, I imagine, one could make all sorts of fillings - savoury as well as sweet....
I've never tried a hand at scones, even when I bake so much:) but raspberry is one thing you can't separate me from, so I think my first scone recipe is going to be based on this giant one:)
Wish you a happy 2008 Heidi!:)
Wow! We were going to make waffles for our Sunday breakfast, but I think we're going to be having Raspberry Mega Scones instead!!
This looks rustic and gorgeous and delicious. I love the idea of a scone with a twist. So many variations are popping into my head, but it's sure hard to beat plain old raspberry. Thanks for all your wonderful recipes - all good things to you and yours in 2008!
I'll have to show this to my mom, she's been wanting to make scones, and this looks like a good place to start.
By the way, I'm trying out your recipe for pepermint semifreddo. and I'm hoping it turns out well! I've never done something so involved! I hope everyone will like them..
These look delicious, a perfect pairing of savory and sweet! Great way to end the year.
I've been looking for a scone recipe and this one sounds fantastic - I can't wait to try it!
wow, mega scones is right - they look marvelous!! love the raspberry flavor of them.
i love how i have all the ingredients for these scones on hand! thanks heidi & happy new year!
This is wonderful Heidi. So many combinations to try, so little time.. Wish you a happy new year!
I agree with Melissa - it's great that we didn't have to wait for the next grocery store trip to make these.
I used lingonberries for filling. I make any excuse to eat lingonberries...
These scones are going hiking with me tomorrow, since I don't have to bring a jar of jam and a spoon. Now if only there was a way to get the clotted cream packaged nicely within the scone as well!
mmmmmm...yummmmy! thanks a lot! :)
How much (in oz or gram) is a stick of butter b.cos our butter is 250gm/8ozs. is it the same?
Yummy yummers! I think I will make these tomorrow morning. What a way to start the new year! Thanks Heidi.
Heidi,
I did it.Not the 5k. The scones. How amazing are these. It almost makes me want to bake full time.
I'm serious.
These are to die for. Did one with the raspberry and one with orange marmalade.
Faboo.
Thanks so much. Happy Happy New Year.
Mary
WOW! does that ever look good!!!
I luuuuuurrrrrve scones, i'm going to add this to the list of things I have got to bake!
Your scones are delicious.
First of all: YUM, as usual.
Second: thought you'd like to know, you've got a shout-out (Rockin' Girl Blogger Award) on my blog.
happy new year.
Happy New Year!
These were a delicious way to start of the year.
Granted, I did mix up the combination a little and only made one (but not for the reason you'd think: I opened the baking powder and didn't have enough to make two mega scones) and used orange zest because I couldn't find organic lemons at the store yesterday, and a touch of almond extract in place of vanilla. But mine didn't look nearly as nice as yours. I sort of made a mess.
Happy New Year to everyone,
So glad you liked these, I love the idea of doing some sort of poppyseed filling next time, sounds great. -h
I'm very new to cooking and baking so I was somewhat trepid at my ability to have this turn out well- but amazingly it was wonderful! I used lingonberry jam at the tartness went perfectly with the lemon glaze. I'm getting braver by the second - watch out 2008!
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