Tuesday's Kitchen - Homemade Scones

Here is my very easy recipe for making scones. I'm not one of those people who can just put a few things together and hey presto you have a fabulous creation! I've never been able to make scones rise nice and high, like everyone else until I tried this recipe my aunt gave me. This recipe works.

There's nothing nicer than homemade scones, jam and cream - you've got to have lashing's of real butter too - Kerrygold is my favourite but as it's not too easy on the waistline I keep it for special occasions or a weekend treat.

Before you start you will need;

* Large mixing bowl
* Flat knife
* Fork
* Measuring jug
* Small bowl
* Round cutter - 6cm
* Baking Sheet, lightly rubbed with  butter
* Wire rack

Ingredients;

* 50g unsalted butter, straight from the fridge
* 50g caster sugar
* 250g self raising flour
* 100ml milk
* 1 egg, lightly beaten

Try something different;

Cheesy Scones - leave out the sugar, add 1/2 teaspoon of mustard powder and 50g of cheddar cheese to the mixture at the end of step one. You can then sprinkle the scones with another 25g of grated cheese before popping them in the oven.

Sun-dried Tomato Scones  - leave out the sugar and add 2/3 tablespoons of chopped sun dried tomatoes to the mixture at the end of step one.



Method;

1. Preheat the oven to 220°C/425°F/Gas7.
2. Put the flour and sugar into the mixing bowl then cut the butter into small cubes and add to the bowl.
3. Use the knife to toss the butter through the flour so that it is all covered.
4. Now rub the flour and butter together with your fingertips until it starts to look like fine breadcrumbs. Lift your hands slightly when rubbing in to get some air into the mixture.
5. Add the beaten egg to your milk and mix together. Pour this into the mixing bowl, mix using your knife and once it is all mixed up and not too sticky you can use your hands to bring it all together.
6. Make the dough into a ball and sprinkle your worktop with some flour before tossing the ball of dough onto it. Quickly knead this to make sure it is all nicely together.
7. Now you can pat out the dough to about 3cm thickness and cut out your rounds - keep pressing the dough scraps together and you should get about 8 nice rounds from this recipe. Dip the cutter in some flour to stop it sticking.
8. Place your scones about 2cm apart on the baking sheet and put in the oven for approx 10-15mins. They are ready when they are golden brown and risen.
9. Remove and cool before enjoying, these are best eaten on the day but if you have ones left over you can toast them for breakfast or a mid morning snack.