The following is the best scone recipe I have found — at least the Union Fire Department seemed to enjoy them. The secret to making good scones is the same as anything else; a mountain woman taught me to make biscuits, and she said, "If you want good biscuits you have to use White Lily flour." (See http://whitelily.com/ if you want to know the details. You can get it at Walmart and Meijers — I am going to try to get Krogers to stock it; if enough people ask them they will.) The only thing my teacher did wrong was to pinch the shortening into the flour with her fingers. I did this for years until I learnt that it activates the gluten too soon. It is better to cut the shortening in with a table knife, even better than using those pastry cutters. My wife commented on some biscuits I made not too long ago that they were not as good as usual, maybe a little bitter. I said, "It's that awful Gold Medal flour you bought for 89¢s; if you want them to be good get White Lily next time." And she has ever since. (Don't use that other flour for anything that calls for more than a teaspoon of flour. I also suggest using Trauth buttermilk; I use the Country Style with butterflakes. It makes the dough so nice and creamy the children beg for it, and say they don't want theirs cooked.) This recipe comes from the Briscoe House Bed and Breakfast of Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. (If John Brown had eaten these he would have interrupted the raid and gone home with a bag of White Lily.) It is not necessary to use an egg. (It is not called for in the original recipe), but I think it improves them. It should be mixed into the first cup of buttermilk. Preheat the oven to at least 400 degrees.
2 ½ Teaspoons Baking Powder
3 Cups Flour
½ Teaspoon Baking Soda
1 Teaspoon Salt
(or use self-rising Flour)
½ Cup Sugar
*************************
¾ Cup Butter
¾ Cup Currants
1 Egg
Buttermilk
Sift the first set of ingredii together. Cut in the butter with a knife until the pieces are fairly small. Add the currants. (The original recipe notes: "Raisins can be used, but for proper scones, one should use currants." Sounds snobby, but it is true. If you use raisins I suggest chopping them smaller with a pizza cutter on a glass plate and steeping them in boiling water. The children also like the resultant "Raisin tea".) Add buttermilk slowly, mixing with the flat of the knife until the dough sticks together. The recipe calls for a cup of buttermilk, but I usually use more. Turn out the dough on a floured surface and kneed a few times. Take the dough by hunks (you can divide into halves or thirds) and mash into circles with your hand — I usually put it on a plate — cut into triangles like a pie, and place pieces on a baking pan. You may brush the tops with buttermilk, an egg wash, or even melted butter, to get them a rich brown. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, and have a plateful waiting for the fire department.