Scones

We are renovating – Grrrr. Hate hate renovating.

I have builders in drinking copious coffees and generally clogging up car parking area with many many more vehicles than there are actual builders.
Have been baking for them each day in vain hope they’ll appreciate effort and put walls back in house. Kids rooms previously had no insulation, now situation Far Worse – no walls!

Teenage daughter is currently residing in tent in garage. Tent is to prevent crud falling on her when asleep. Living conditions very poor, but teenage daughter emerging from garage in shorty pyjamas each day at least ensures presence of builders, and lively if brief, spurt of hammering type activity.

Have fed them brownie, caramel pecan slice, chocolate berry muffins and today was scones - as nearly out of everything else and is shopping day but not till later.
Scones, cheap and easy and builders not particularly discerning. Not like judges on NZ’s hottest baker show on telly. Am mystified though that contestants had trouble with scones as soooo easy!

Here is good recipe – bad scones? No excuse!

Scones take only around 20 minutes to make from scratch. They cost less than $2.00 to make and provide 12 – 15 filling fresh scones. They will provide energy from carbohydrate, and are not high in fat like pies or biscuits. You can top them with butter, jam, marmite or cheese (leave out the sugar and add grated cheese to the mixture too if you have it.) If you have a processor then they’re even easier to make.

Pre heat the oven to 210˚C
3 cups plain flour and 3 tsp baking powder or 3 cups self raising flour
3 tbsp butter or table spread
A pinch of salt
A dessert spoon of sugar
Approximately 1 cup of milk (sour it with a squeeze of lemon juice if you have it)

Mix the dry ingredients together in a bowl then rub in the butter so it resembles bread crumbs. Add the liquid and mix quickly and gently to form a soft dough – do not knead as this will make the scones tough. Pat the mix together and roll out to rectangle roughly 2.5 cm thick. Slice into squares or use a cookie cutter or glass to cut out rounds.

Place on a baking sheet and bake in the preheated oven for 10 -12 minutes until well risen and slightly golden. Scones are best eaten fresh, leftovers can be frozen