English raisin scones recipe

A trip to England inspired AAA member Debbie Rice to perfect her recipe for English scones. A Jane Austen fan since she first read Pride and Prejudice in college, Debbie traveled to Bath, England, in 2013 to attend a Jane Austen Festival. During her stay, Debbie ate scones and clotted cream almost every day.

Back home in Austin, she attempted to find a suitable substitute, but all the local scones fell flat. “Eventually, I decided I’d have to try to find a recipe and make them myself,” Debbie says. “Once I knew the basic ingredients, I began experimenting. It took a couple of years until I came up with what I think is the closest scone to the ones I had in England.”

Now, the psychotherapist and life coach enjoys her homemade scones on most Sunday mornings with a cup of English breakfast or Barry’s Irish tea. “This recipe is super simple and quick,” Debbie says. It can also be customized to suit your taste. She prefers her scones with raisins and complemented with fruit preserves.

English raisin scones

Ingredients

Makes 12 scones

• 2 cups self-rising flour (Rice uses King Arthur)
• 4 teaspoons aluminum-free baking powder
• 1/3–1/2 cup organic cane sugar
• 6 tablespoons salted butter, cubed
• 2/3 cup whole milk
• 1 egg

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Combine flour, baking powder, and sugar in a bowl and mix briefly with fork or by hand. Add butter, breaking up pieces until mixture is a fine texture. In separate bowl, whisk milk and egg together until evenly combined and smooth. Separate out about 1/8 of a cup of egg and milk mixture to glaze top of scones before putting them in oven.

Add milk and egg mixture to flour mixture. Mix with fork or wooden spoon until just combined. Cover your counter with parchment paper, dusting flour on your hands and the parchment. Gather batter from bowl and move it to floured parchment. Knead about 10 times, adding flour if necessary, folding batter over itself each time. Dough should hold together well and be soft and pliable. Roll out dough to about 3/4-inch. Cut with round cookie cutter (or into triangles).

Place pieces on parchment-lined baking sheet. Brush each scone with egg and milk mixture and sprinkle with sugar. Bake on the bottom rack of the oven for 20 minutes, checking after 15 minutes. When golden brown, remove scones from oven.