Gingerbread Scones

I love getting requests for scones from Hubby's work. It takes the pressure off me to come up with a good idea for a recipe, and lets me know what they want! It's wonderful. So when someone requested gingerbread scones, I was certainly up for the challenge! 

I had made them before, but they had turned out dry and I was unimpressed. This, I used a similar recipe, but changed it up some, adding a bit of butter to keep them moister. The result was a great cross between scone and cookie. Once cool, these do harden a bit more than the typical scone, but they were well received by my many taste testers. 

A wonderful holiday treat to enjoy with tea or coffee.

Ingredients:
2 cups all purpose flour

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1/8 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground clove

1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp salt

8 tbsp butter, unsalted, chopped and chilled

1 large egg

3 tbsp molasses

5 tbsp half and half

1.5 tsp vanilla bean paste

The Process:

Measure everything out first.

Combine the dry ingredients and whisk to mix.

Mix in the butter with a pastry blender until it looks like coarse sand.
(A few pebbles are okay.)

Combine the egg, molasses, half and half, and vanilla. Whisk lightly to mix.

Flatten out into a log or rectangle (I chose log because I doubled the recipe),
about 1/3-inch high.

Cut into wedge shapes, then bake until darkened around edges.

Instructions:
1. Combine all dry ingredients: flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, and salt. Whisk to mix well.

2. Add the chopped butter to the dry ingredients and blend with a pastry blender. 

3. In a medium sized bowl, combine the egg, molasses, half and half, and vanilla bean paste. Whisk to mix.

4. Add the liquid mixture to the dry mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until the liquid just comes together. (Be sure to scrape out the vanilla bean paste from the bottom of the bowl!)

5. Turn out onto a lightly floured countertop and flatten into a round or rectangle (whichever you prefer). Cut into wedges and arrange on a parchment-lined baking sheet.

6. Bake at 375˚F for 20-25 minutes, or until darkened on top around the edges.


Results:
These were another well received scone. I think the added butter kept them a bit more moist, so they were less like cookies and more like the moist scones they should be. 

The flavor of ginger, clove, nutmeg, and cinnamon, as well as the added vanilla, makes this complement a black tea or dark coffee well.