Scottish Oat Scones
This recipe is an homage to the original scones, which were made from Scottish oats.
INGREDIENTS | YIELDS 6–8 SCONES
- 1 cup Scottish oats
- 1½ cups milk
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup cake flour
- ½ cup oat flour
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1½ cups brown sugar
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, diced and well chilled
- 1 egg yolk
- ½ cup cream
-
Combine oats and 1 cup milk. Refrigerate overnight to soften.
Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment.
In a small bowl, whisk together the egg, vanilla, and remaining milk; set aside. In a large bowl, sift together cake flour, oat flour, cinnamon, salt, baking powder, and ½ cup brown sugar.
Cut the chilled butter into the dry ingredients, breaking it into small, pea-sized pieces with your fingertips or a pastry blender. Be sure not to mix too much. Butter and flour should create a dry, crumbly mixture, not a paste.
Make a well in the center of the flour-butter mixture, and add the wet ingredients and the soaked oats. Stir gently until just moistened. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and fold it 7 or 8 times, until it holds together. (This is not kneading.)
Flatten the dough into a disk 1″ thick. Cut the disk into 6–8 wedges and place them on the prepared pan, evenly spaced.
Whisk together the yolk and cream and brush it generously on the top of each scone. Sprinkle the top with remaining brown sugar. Rest 10 minutes before baking until golden brown, about 15 minutes.
Traditional Scones
The wedge shape used in these recipes harkens back to the days when baking was about sustenance, not appearance. Today's scones are often cut out of the dough like biscuits or formed into decorative shapes. This results in a bit of wasted dough, which never would have been tolerated in centuries past.
