RECIPE: British-style currant scones

Recipe reprinted with permission from “America’s Test Kitchen.“

Makes 12 scones.

The dough will be quite soft and wet; dust your work surface and your hands liberally with flour. For a tall, even rise, use a sharp-edged biscuit cutter and push straight down; do not twist the cutter. Serve these scones with jam as well as salted butter or clotted cream.

Timeline

30 minutes to cut and soften butter at room temperature (heat oven and gather ingredients while waiting)

15 minutes to make dough and stamp out scones

10 to 12 minutes to bake scones

10 minutes to cool scones

Essential tools

Rimmed baking sheet

Parchment paper

Food processor for cutting butter into dry ingredients

Rolling pin

2 1/2-inch round biscuit cutter with sharp edges

Pastry brush for brushing scones with milk mixture

Substitutions and variations

We prefer whole milk in this recipe, but low-fat milk can be used.

The currants are classic but other add- ins can be used in their place, including chopped crystallized ginger, toasted nuts, or other dried fruits.

These scones are best served fresh, but leftover scones may be stored in the freezer and reheated in a 300-degree oven for 15 minutes before serving.

Ingredients

3 cups (15 ounces) all-purpose flour

1/3 cup (2 1/3 ounces) sugar

2 tablespoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces and softened

3/4 cup dried currants

1 cup whole milk

2 large eggs

Instructions

1. Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 500 degrees. Line rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Pulse flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in food processor until combined, about 5 pulses. Add butter and pulse until fully incorporated and mixture looks like very fine crumbs with no visible butter, about 20 pulses. Transfer mixture to large bowl and stir in currants.
2. Whisk milk and eggs together in second bowl. Set aside 2 tablespoons milk mixture. Add remaining milk mixture to flour mixture and, using rubber spatula, fold together until almost no dry bits of flour remain.
3. Transfer dough to well-floured counter and gather into ball. With floured hands, knead until surface is smooth and free of cracks, 25 to 30 times. Press gently to form disk. Using floured rolling pin, roll disk into 9-inch round, about 1 inch thick. Using floured 21/2-inch round cutter, stamp out 8 rounds, recoating cutter with flour if it begins to stick. Arrange scones on prepared sheet. Gather dough scraps, form into ball, and knead gently until surface is smooth. Roll dough to 1-inch thickness and stamp out 4 rounds. Discard remaining dough.
4. Brush tops of scones with reserved milk mixture. Reduce oven temperature to 425 degrees and bake scones until risen and golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes; rotating sheet halfway through baking. Transfer scones to wire rack and let cool for at least 10 minutes. Serve scones warm or at room temperature.