10 Things to Do While Waiting for Scones to Bake // Brown Butter Scones

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  1. Send children outside to play in the snow so you can be alone.

  2. Think about cleaning the kitchen.

  3. Warm up coffee for the fifth time that day.

  4. Watch children playing out the window.

  5. Feel old because now you have to be the one who cleans kitchens instead of playing outside.

  6. Call Grandpa. 

  7. Feel young because a Grandpa’s voice saying your name makes you feel like a kid again.

  8. Linger on the call for as long as you can because you don’t want to clean the kitchen and because you don’t want to stop feeling young and because you don’t know when you will see your Grandpa again so saying goodbye feels scary.

  9. Do the scary thing (saying goodbye, not cleaning the kitchen.)

  10. Call the kids inside because scones are almost ready and you don’t want to be alone anymore. (And also maybe you can get them to clean the kitchen.) (They won’t.)

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Brown Butter Scones

adapted from Good to the Grain

INGREDIENTS

  • 4 oz (115g) unsalted Butter

  • 1/2 cup (85g) Spelt (or any whole wheat) Flour

  • 1 cup (150g) All-Purpose Flour

  • 1 cup (100g) whole Rolled Oats

  • 1/4 cup (50g) Brown Sugar

  • 1/4 cup (60g) Sugar

  • 2 teaspoons (10g) Baking Powder

  • 1 1/4 teaspoons (6 g) Sea Salt or Kosher Salt

  • 1/2 cup (60ml) Heavy Cream

  • 1 Egg

  • 1 teaspoon (5ml) vanilla bean paste (if you are fancy like me), or vanilla extract

  • heavy cream for brushing

  • sugar , granulated or superfine sugar

INSTRUCTIONS 

Make Brown Butter (technically it should be at least a couple hours before making dough, but I spread finished brown butter in a large pan and froze while I got everything else ready and it still set up a bit and tasted amazing.)

  • Melt butter in a tall saucepan over medium heat. Swirl butter occasionally to promote even melting and browning.

  • Cook until butter is a light caramel color and bottom of pan is covered in dark brown flecks. Butter will have a toasty smell. (Butter will first bubble up and sizzle, then settle down with the solids floating on the surface. Keep cooking until nice and toasty, without burning the solids.)

  • Pour butter into a wide, shallow dish, scraping the flecks on the bottom of the pan into the butter, and freeze until solid. This can be done a day or more ahead of time.

  • Preheat oven to 350° F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or rub with butter

Make Scones

  • Combine flours, oats, sugars, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl in a food processor. Pulse until mixed, about 20 seconds.

  • In a small bowl, whisk together heavy cream, egg, and vanilla extract until well combined. Add wet mix into dry mix and stir until just incorporated.

  • Put dough ball on a well floured surface and pat into a 7" wide by 1" thick disk. Cut into 8 wedges.

  • Place wedges on baking sheet, spacing a few inches apart. Brush with a couple light coats of heavy cream, then sprinkle sugar over wedges. Bake for until the edges of the scones have browned nicely, about 28-34 minutes. The scones are better slightly over-baked than under-baked.

These taste the way you feel when your grandpa says your name. And if you don’t know what I mean then let this be a reminder to call your grandparents, while the scones are baking, of course.


Rachel NevergallComment