I was in the mood to try something different this morning. I took a long look at my 4 perfectly ripe white peaches this morning. Hmmm….. Then I went outside to scope out the raspberries. The ripe ones were gone! Thieves!
Rather than bake up a “regular” peach scone, I decided to try something new – how about using a scone as a shortcake? Not like they aren’t related anyway……… I was inspired by the Vanilla Bean Biscuits from the Standard Baking Co in Maine. But, after an hour of looking around the house for my book, I got discouraged. I couldn’t find it! Shocker! This is happening to me a lot lately. (Time to re-organize my cookbook collection!). Anyway, after fooling around for awhile, I decided to try this:
THE VANILLA BEAN-CINNAMON SUGAR BUTTERMILK SCONE – adapted from Epicurious
3 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cups sugar
1 tblsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp kosher salt
1 vanilla bean split and scraped
1 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 sticks cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
1/2 stick unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup sugar mixed with 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
sanding sugar
In the bowl of your food processor, whir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and vanilla “caviar”(scrapings from the vanilla bean) until fully blended. Add the butter cubes and pulse around 10 times or until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Remove dry ingredients to a low wide bowl. Make a well in the center. Gently mix the buttermilk into the dry ingredients with a dough scraper – using a light hand. When the dough begins to pull together, finish kneading it with your hands until it becomes a loose mass. Remove the dough to a floured work surface. Pat the dough out to a 10×6″ rectangle. Brush with the melted butter and sprinkle cinnamon-sugar over all. Working with a dough scraper, gently fold the dough in half. Pat it out again using your judgement as to how much it can take. You are looking for the dough to be puffy and lively looking. I got about a 9” square. Cut the dough into triangles or squares and remove very gently to the baking sheets. Brush lightly with additional buttermilk and sprinkle sparkling sugar on top. Bake for 20 minutes or until browned and crunchy on top. Remove from oven and serve warm,
preheat oven to 400F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper
Top with fresh peach slices and a dollop of creme fraiche and enjoy!
