Coffee shop style scones

Pictured above - cheese and onion variation

When I say 'coffee shop style' scones, I mean the kind that are rich and buttery and packed with fillings, because you're eating it from a paper bag on your desk and can't put butter and jam or cheese from the fridge in them. I use other biscuit or scone recipes when I want something to go alongside a bowl of soup, or a plate of eggs and fruit, or to make a sandwich with, but this is a standalone treat or breakfast on its own. 

Like other great biscuit recipes, the secret to this is frozen grated butter. You can freeze the block of butter, then grate, but my fridge is pretty cold and I actually find it easier to grate, then freeze. 

Grate and freeze butter for at least 15 minutes. Meanwhile, mix up your dry ingredients, including any mix-ins. Beat the egg in a one cup measure, then fill to the top with buttermilk. Toss the butter into the dry ingredients and combine. Then stir the egg/milk into the dry ingredients. This is where it's a bit tricky - different flours seem to absorb liquid differently, so start with the measured amount of milk, and dribble some more in if necessary to get a shaggy but cohesive dough. Because the butter is frozen, the dough will feel a bit on the dry side, but that's ok. You want something that will mostly form into a ball, though if there is a small handful of dry bits at the bottom of the bowl, that's ok - use that as your 'flour' for the board while patting it out. 

Gather dough into a rough ball, pat it out into a oval/rectangle about 2 cm thick and fold it into 3 (like a letter), turn and repeat this a couple of times. It doesn't have to be an exact rectangle. Doing this very roughly is fine, as long as your creating some layers each time. 

Next, decide if you want triangle scones (pat into a circle) or squares (pat into a rectangle). Make it quite thick, about 2 cm or so. Cut into shapes with a sharp knife, using a clean downward cut (i.e. don't saw back and forth). Put into the fridge for about 15 minutes. This stops the scones from spreading too much and having the butter ooze out. 

Preheat oven to 400F. Lay scones out on a baking sheet lined with parchment, and bake for 15-25 minutes. This really depends on how thin you rolled it out and how big you cut them, so start checking at around 15 minutes. They should be very risen, and browned. 

Ingredients

Scant 1/2 cup butter

2 cups flour

2 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt 

2 Tbsp sugar

1 egg

3/4 cup to 1 1/4 cups buttermilk (see recipe notes)

Grate butter and freeze at least 15 minutes. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar. Beat egg in one cup measure and top up with buttermilk for a 1 cup liquid total. You may need to add more buttermilk or milk after stirring the dough. 

Add grated butter to dry ingredients and toss to combine. Add in any mix-ins such as cheese, onion, fruit, nuts, etc. Make a well and pour in liquid ingredients, stirring to form a shaggy dough. Add more buttermilk or milk as necessary. 

Pat out into a rough rectangle, fold into 3 and re-pat out into a rectangle. Turn and repeat twice. Pat out into a circle or rectangle 2 cm thick, depending on if you want wedges or squares. Cut into shapes, then refrigerate for 15 minutes while your oven preheats to 400F. Bake for 15-25 minutes until golden brown on top and well browned and crisp on the bottom.

Variations:

Cheese and red onion: Slice 1/2 a red onion thinly into half moons, then saute until soft. Refrigerate so it doesn't melt the butter when added to dough. Grate 1 cup of sharp cheddar. Add 1/2 tsp dry mustard, and a few shakes of cayenne pepper to the flour mixture. Keep the sugar level to 2 Tbsp. You can't really taste it, and it's needed to the proper texture. 

Raspberry white chocolate: Increase sugar to 1/3 cup. Keep the salt level to 1 tsp, it's necessary or they'll taste bland. Add 2/3 cup white chocolate chips to the dry mixture. Add 1 tsp of vanilla to liquids. Add 1 cup of frozen raspberries (may need to chop them a bit if they're large) after you've stirred in the liquid.