Freezer Candidate: Scones

Recently I have been hitting the books from America's Test Kitchen/Cook's Illustrated alot. I love their books and their recipes even more. I wish I could have their entire collection! Well, I will be looking out for them on the library for sure.

Needless to say, this Blueberry Scone recipe is by them. Or rather, I should say that it was adopted from their version of it. Click here for the original recipe, courtesy of From The Kitchen of ... . Their version aim to produce flaky and airy scones and hence requires extra steps in the preparations. However, to me scones are classified as Quick Breads because they are meant to be quick to prepare! I don't want to mess around with a grater and I don't want to walk to and fro my freezer to temper with the dough (not that my freezer would give me any space). So while making the scone, I keep imagining how the person who wrote the recipe would shake his head dismal if he were to see me pulling this off on his recipe.

So how did I do it then?

As I say, I skipped the grating of the frozen butter and instead rubbed the butter in with my fingers. That's the only variation.

And how did the scones turn out?

They were delicious! Slightly cakey with just the right amout of sweetness. This is really a good standalone scone for those on the go.

Would I be making this again?

I doubt it. Not because I don't love the scones, but because this recipe calls for sour cream, which I just so happen to have some leftover from making the nachos. Sour cream is not a standard item on my shopping list.

Step to freeze freshly made scones:

(1) After cutting the scones into desired serving portions, lay them on a slip a parchment/baking paper (this will prevent them from sticking to each other).

(2) Place the portions into a container. Be careful not to overcrowd so that the scones will freeze individually.

(3) Put container in freezer.

(4) When the dough is partially frozen, tansfer to a zip top bag. Remove air from the bag before putting into the freezer.

To use frozen scones:

(1) Preheat oven to 200 degC.

(2) Remove the scones from the freezer to defrost until the oven comes to 200 degC.

(3) Place scones on baking tray.

(4) Bake until the scones are browned on the tops.