Grandma Margaret's Scones

Last week we had dinner with our old (make that longtime) friend Miss PP i.e. Pam the Poet.  She is an avid bushwalker, and had recently been down to icy cold Hobart, enjoying a walk in the snow on Mount Wellington.  And this was prior to the big snowfall they had last week, where it snowed on Hobart itself, which is very unusual as it doesn't often fall below 400 metres.

Ice House Track Mt. Wellington July 2015 (courtesy Pam S.)  

We were discussing scones, as you do, and she mentioned her grandma's scones.  I have been checking out various scone recipes this week, trying to find an interesting one for International Scone Week.  I have come across some really odd ones which I will share in a later post but for now, I have made this one which does not involve the usual method of rubbing butter into flour, but adds flour and milk to the buttery, sugary, egg mixture.   I have never seen a scone recipe using eggs before, so this was a first for me.  Miss PP suggests thinking of her grandma making these on a wood stove in the '30s, bringing them along on a picnic in the family's Nash.

a bit like this one! :=)  (image: wikimedia)  

So here we have grandma Margaret's woodfire-baked scones for your delectation!

ingredients:

2 big tbs butter, softened
2 tbs sugar  (I used caster)
1 egg
2 cups plain flour
2 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp baking soda (bi-carb soda)
(you are basically adding 1 tsp cream of tartar and 1/2 tsp baking soda to each cup of flour)
1/2 cup milk


Method:

Mix the butter, sugar and egg together well in a medium bowl
Sift the flour, cream of tartar and bicarb into a separate bowl
Add 1/3 of the flour mix to the butter mixture, alternating with the milk till all incorporated
Mix gently till you get a soft dough (a knife or spatula is good for this)
Turn out onto a floured surface and knead lightly
Pat into an oval-type shape about 30cm x 20cm
Cut out triangles or rounds
Place them on a greased baking tray, crowding them together
Bake for 10 mins @ 230C till golden and risen
Eat with lashings of strawberry or raspberry jam and whipped cream.

ingredients 

mixing the butter, sugar and egg together well  

sifting the flour, cream of tartar and bicarb into a small bowl 

add 1/3 of the flour mix, alternating with the milk   

tipping in the rest of the flour mix     

stirring in the last of the milk    

it looks quite dry at this point   

patting out the dough on a floured surface      

cutting out shapes   

placing the scones on a greased tray    

ready for 10 mins baking in a 230C oven 

all done!

devour with (butter!), jam and cream and a cuppa  

Mr P. and Lackey 2 (one of Mr P.'s staff), decided they would taste-test for me.  The verdict was "you can experiment on me anytime" from Lackey 2, and "tasty" from Mr P.  I smothered mine in butter and cream and jam!  Oh yes I did. Very tasty; a bit cake-like and a teensy bit sweet from the sugar but overall quite delicious.  They are a little different in texture to what we would normally think of as scones; they didn't rise as much, and were slightly denser than normal.  I found it fascinating to try this new (to me) method, and was very pleased at how well they turned out.  Thanks Miss PP!

my strawb doodle - for the jam, silly!

Miss PPs shot of berries in the snow