Ginger Berry Scones

I had SO much fun yesterday!! Shaylee and I went out to lunch, (Joe tagged along) and funny faces and hilarity ensued. Shaylee and Joe took funny-face pictures, while he came up with some great lines ("Your face is the cutest in that picture!"), after which we came back here, crammed 6 adults, 2 kids and 1 beast in this shoebox, and had a makeover party! 'Twas wonderful. I'm glad Shaylee had so much fun with the boys, they adore her! They've adopted her as Aunt Shaylee now, with promises to mail her pictures and letters. 

It was almost Fall today. Sooo close!! The morning started out perfectly crisp, I even saw some kids wearing coats on the way to school! Of course, it warmed up plenty toward the middle of the day, but it still felt different. You know that day when you notice that the sun seems to be coming in lower, instead of baking you from straight up in the top of the sky? It seems more mellow, less sharp and bright... Maybe it's just me. Maybe it's even wishful thinking... maybe I pay way to much attention to signs of approaching Fall...

Either way, it was a great excuse to bake something yummy and Fallish, so I picked these scones from The English Kitchen. I'm a bit nuts about Marie's recipes these days, I totally just whipped up a batch of pasta with asparagus and lemon cream sauce, for no reason other than Lunch and that I wanted it... it's officially my favorite pasta ever now! And these scones blow all my former scone recipes (so far) "out of dee water!"

Ginger Berry Scones (adapted from The English Kitchen)
Printable Recipe

298g of plain flour (3 cups)
73g of ultrafine/caster sugar (1/3 cup)
42g of powdered milk (1/4 cup)
3/4 tsp salt
1 Tb baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp each of: ground allspice, nutmeg, and ginger
about 1 cup of dried fruits: raisins, currants, cranberries, etc (I used cranberries and blueberries)

a little bit less than 1/4 cup candied ginger, minced
2 large eggs, beaten
2 tsp vanilla
125ml of buttermilk (1/2 cup)
8 Tb cold butter, cut into about tablespoon-sized chunks
1 egg, beaten with 1 tsp water (for glazing)
coarse sugar or cinnamon sugar for topping

Preheat the oven to 230*C/450*F/ gas mark 8. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.

Whisk together all the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Cut the butter in (or rub in with your fingers, pulse in food processor, etc) until butter bits are no larger than small peas. Stir in the dried fruit and ginger. 

Whisk the eggs, vanilla, and buttermilk together in a separate bowl. Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients, mixing in with a fork and being careful not to overmix. Gently fold together until all loose flour is mixed in.

"Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead a few times. Divide the dough in half. Place both halves onto the prepared baking tray and pat each half into a 7 inch circle, approximately 1/2 inch thick, leaving at least 4 inches between each round. Cut each round into 8 wedges, separating them only very slightly. Brush the tops with the beaten egg/water combination and sprinkle with some coarse sugar or cinnamon sugar, if using."

Place on the middle rack of your preheated oven. Bake for 7 minutes only. Turn the oven off and allow them to sit in the oven for a further 8 to 10 minutes without opening the oven door. They should be golden brown. Remove from the oven at the end of that time and place on a wire rack to cool slightly before cutting apart and eating.

This is the most perfect Fall scone. They all got eaten or given away... I must make more, just for me!!

They're soft and fluffy with that classic, almost hard "crust" we think of with scones.

I majorly upped the spices, but I think you'll forgive me...

I am LOVING ginger these days!! Not in large amounts, but definitely letting it make its presence known! I couldn't stand ginger for years, but it looks like that is wearing off. Hooray!

My little ginger-lover (Stephen) wolfed three of these, and wanted more!! Ah... I love when my children share my baking joys! (Did I ever mention that the pasta with asparagus was a huge hit?? My boys like asparagus! Take THAT, Husband!!)

I think I'll make another batch for Stephen's thesis defense. Come listen to made-up geology words, and get a scone!

Shared at Foodie Friends Friday