I’d consider myself a regular home baker. I always have baking essentials in the pantry and the fridge. Sometimes I have things that go beyond essentials—which is why I have a big bag of dried currants hanging out in my baking basket.
Currants are definitely not a baking staple for me, but they ended up in my cupboard during my annual dried fruit shopping spree (I always buy too many fruits for fruitcake). Sheltering in place, though, has me baking like everyone else and looking into the recesses of the pantry like everyone else.
I decided the best way to use these dried zante currants (which are actually a kind of grape not real currants which frustrates me to no end) was to toss them in a scone. My favorite scone from Colectivo has dried blueberries, so this is a good way to approximate them with what I have on hand.
My Recipe for Currant Scones
Making scones is pretty simple business. You don’t need any fancy equipment, just a bowl, a spatula and a pastry blender (you can use a fork if you don’t have one of those). This recipe takes about 15 minutes to prep and then it’s about 40 minutes of hands-off time. And if you don’t have currants—and why would you?—use dried cranberries or even fresh blueberries.
- 2¾ cups flour
- ⅓ cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup dried currants
- Zest of half an orange (or lemon or lime)
- ½ cup cold butter, cubed
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon milk + 2 tablespoons coarse sugar to top, optional
Yield: 6-8 scones, depending on how you slice.
Step 1: Mix the Dry Ingredients
First up, whisk together the dry ingredients—thats flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and the zest.
The zest here is optional, but I think it makes the scone taste a bit fresher and gives it a touch more personality. Use whatever citrus you have on hand.
Step 2: Cut in the Butter
Next, grab your cold butter and cut it into cubes. Make sure it’s good and cold—not oh it sat on the counter for 15 minutes while I measured cold.
Use a pastry blender or a fork and cut the cubed butter into the dry ingredients. Keep cutting in until the butter is about pea-sized. If you make homemade biscuits, this is all standard procedure.
Step 3: Add Milk + Currants
After cutting in the butter, add your buttermilk and vanilla along with your currants. Give them a quick toss in a few teaspoons of flour. This will prevent them from sinking to the bottom of the scone.
Stir until just combined. Don’t overwork the dough, just get everyone in the bowl introduced.
If you don’t have buttermilk, milk or half and half is fine. You can make your own buttermilk substitute, too.
Also, use good vanilla always. Yeah, the good stuff is pricey, but it’s worth every penny if you ask me. I used Nielsen-Massey Indonesian vanilla extract here. I typically prefer the Mexican kind, but the Indonesian vanilla goes well with fruit (also I’m out of the Mexican variety right now).
Step 4: Give It a Few Turns + Chill
With your scone dough made, turn it out onto a clean countertop and pat it flat. Then fold it over itself. Repeat three or four times and shape the dough into a round on the final fold (or turn). The round should be about ¾-inch thick.
Then using a knife or a bench scraper, slice the round into wedges. I opted for six which yields pretty generous scones. Cutting this batch into eight would also work (I’d actually recommend that).
When your done cutting, you can pop the scones into the fridge or freezer for 20 minutes. This will let the butter solidify a bit so you get flakier, more tender scones.
Step 5: Brush + Bake
After hanging out in the ol’ chill chest, you can prep the scones for baking. They can go in the oven as-is or you can give them a quick brush with milk or cream and then a quick sprinkle of coarse sugar. This part is totally optional, but I like the crunch that the coarse sugar gives the scones. Also, I’ve got a full bag of demerara sugar hanging out in my pantry that also needs to be put to use.
From there, pop the scones into a 400ºF oven for 15-20 minutes—or until golden brown. Let them cool on a wire rack and eat them within a few days. You can always freeze any extras.
As far as back-of-the-pantry bakes go, this one’s pretty good. It helps me rid myself of why did I buy that? ingredients and now I’ve got a tasty breakfast that makes quarantine a little less glum.
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