It's been a while since I've experienced a culinary success worthy of inclusion here, but over Christmas I made a tremendous discovery with this light (LIGHT!) scone recipe. If you knarf down a scone at a coffee shop, they're definitely tasty, but they pack a calorie wallop at about 500 a piece. Good news, fellow sugar addicts: this produces a soft, flaky, deeply flavored scone at....ready?...about 230 calories! It sounds complex, but it really isn't. Just follow the instructions. You can find dried pears at specialty grocers (like Trader Joe's) and cardamom (a spice, in case you're not familiar with it) at most large mega marts. Enjoy!
1 1/2 C. all-purpose flour
1/2 C. whole wheat flour
1/4 C. sugar
2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. cardamom
3 T. chilled butter, diced into small pieces
1 large egg
10 T. buttermilk
1 t. lemon zest
1 t. vanilla extract
1/2 C. chopped, dried pears
1/2 C. dried cranberries
2 t. flour, for dusting
1 egg white lightly beaten
Begin by combining the dry ingredients (flour through cardamom) in a large mixing bowl, whisking gently to combine. Add in the diced butter pieces and blend with a pastry blender (or, if you don't have one, a fork and a knife) until the butter is coated with the flour mixture and most pieces are about the size of small peas. The butter won't melt or incorporate fully. That's good. Pieces of butter in pastry dough create the flaky texture that we want.
In a separate medium-sized bowl, lightly beat the whole egg with a fork. Add in the buttermilk, lemon, and vanilla and stir to combine. Add in the pear and cranberries and stir again.
Pour the wet mixture into the dry ingredients. Mix with a fork until the dough comes together and forms a loose ball. You will have some flour that doesn't want to mix--lightly knead the dough mixture together in the bowl with your hands until all of the flour is incorporated. Try to do this as quickly as possible. The more the dough is handled, the tougher the scones become.
Place a piece of waxed paper on your counter and lightly dust with flour. Turn the dough onto the waxed paper, dusting lightly with flour, and form it into an 8 inch circle with your hands. Spray a cookie sheet (or a pizza pan--that's what I use) with nonstick spray. Invert the pan on the dough, then, grabbing the edges of the waxed paper, flip the whole thing over so your dough is on the greased pan. Discard the waxed paper. With a large knife, cut through the dough to form 8 equal wedges. Do not separate the wedges. You want this to look like a pizza--sliced, but still together. Using a pastry brush, spread the egg white lightly over the scones. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes, or until golden brown. Enjoy!
