Apricot Scones

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According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Apricot Scones are a menu favorite at The Barn, the restaurant on the grounds of the Thomas Sappington House Museum Complex in the county of Crestwood. Now, I have been to The Barn restaurant, and my experience was not a good one. However, I do love apricots, and I like a good scone, so I was willing to give these a try. The directions provided were unnecessarily tedious and long, so I updated them; I find the absolute best way to make a scone is in the food processor, so that’s what I did. These are indeed tasty and filling, and made a wonderful breakfast this morning.

 Apricot Scones

Recipe adapted from Feast Magazine

 

Flour, for work surface

2 c. flour

⅓ c. granulated sugar

1 t. baking powder

¼ t. baking soda

½ t. kosher salt

8 T. (1 stick) cold, unsalted butter, cut into 16 pieces

1 3-oz. pkg. Melissa’s dried apricots

½ c. toasted pecan pieces

½ c. sour cream

1 large egg

2 T. melted butter, for tops

⅓ c. Sugar in the Raw

 

Preheat oven to 450° F. Line a baking sheet with parchment or a Silpat. Lightly dust a work surface with flour.

 Pulse apricots in food processor 4-5 times until diced small; empty into bowl. Pulse pecan halves 4-5 times until chopped; empty into bowl with apricots.

Into the food processor, place flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Pulse until combined. Place butter cubes into food processor, and pulse until mixture forms a coarse meal. Add apricots and pecans, and pulse until blended.

 In a small bowl, whisk sour cream and egg until smooth, then add to the food processor. Pulse until it forms a large ball.

Place dough ball on floured work surface and pat into a 6-inch disc, smoothing sides as you go. 

 

 

Brush melted butter over the top and sides, then cover with sugar in the raw, pressing down lightly as you do.

 

Make four cuts into the top to create eight pie-shaped scones. Lift each one off of the work surface, lightly dipping the bottom into any accumulated butter and sugar, and place on baking sheet. 

 

Bake until golden brown, 15 to 17 minutes.

 

Serve warm or at room temperature.

  

Orange-Poppy Scones

It is always a good day when the new issue of Everyday Food arrives.  I thumb through it carefully, jotting notes and dog-earing pages, planning for the week ahead.  There are so many things in this issue that I want to try, but considering it's a Sunday and Sunday mornings call for something special, I chose to make the Orange-Poppy Scones.  (Yes, my obsession with scones continues).

These are delicious!  They are easy to make, bake up light and fluffy, and are full of orange-tasting goodness. 

 

One caveat, however: in the recipe in the magazine (above) you are instructed to "Form the dough into a 7-inch square" and "cut into 9 squares."  I would advise against this, if you can even manage, with your sharpest of knives, to cut the dough into such tiny pieces.  Doing this, and then cutting them into diagonals will yield a very small scone.  Instead, do what I did, make one slice across the middle horizontally, and then two vertical slices yielding 6 squares, and cut those into diagonals.  You'll have a perfectly sized scone, and a delicious one too.  

Just look at all of the delicious bits of orange zest spread evenly throughout the scone.

Happy Sunday!