Yogurt Scones

I never understood what was so appealing about scones. All the ones I had ever tried tasted like a hard, dry, biscuit (Starbucks anyone?). For a while, I actually wondered if you were supposed to dunk them in coffee like biscotti. Though after seeing several recipes on food blogs, cooking sites, Pinterest, I decided I needed to give them a chance, because obviously something had to be good about them.

I literally Google searched "what should a scone taste like?" Apparently I'm not the only one out there wondering because there were tons of hits regarding this question. After doing a bit of reading, I found that a scone is essentially a glorified biscuit. It should be light, moist, and oftentimes slightly sweet (at least in a America). A comment in one of the threads posted a link to these yogurt scones from Chocolate and Zucchini. I wasn't new to this blog, as it's quite well known in the food blog community, and thought these would be perfect for my first scone attempt.

I was blown away. I love biscuits, but these were SO much better. I didn't even add butter or jam. I ate them warm, straight from the oven. In fact, we all did! I also loved this recipe because it was really easy to make the scones your own. I used lemon zest and dried strawberries, but you could use any other citrus zest, vanilla, whatever fruit you want, or no fruit at all! I also chose to do an egg wash on top. Totally optional of course!

Just to warn you, I think a new obsession may ensue. To all the scones out there: I'm sorry. It was wrong of me to judge you so quickly, simply because I had a few dry duds. I'll make it up to you, I promise!

Yogurt Scones

Adapted from Chocolate and Zucchini

Ingredients

Scones:

1 2/3 cups flour

2 rounded tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

A good pinch of salt

2 tablespoons butter, chilled

1/2 cup plain yogurt

2 tablespoons milk

Flavoring: Anywhere from 2-3 tablespoons to 1/4 cup dried fruit, chopped, or 1 teaspoon citrus zest, or 1 teaspoon vanilla, etc. All of which could be optional.

Egg wash (optional):

Whisk together 1 egg and 2 tablespoons milk or water. You will have some left over. You could give them a quick scramble to serve with your scones!

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silpat.

In a medium bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Dice the butter and blend it into the dry ingredients using a fork, pastry cutter, or using your hands (which is what I prefer!), until no visible lumps of butter remains. Add the yogurt, milk, and whatever flavoring you've chosen to use, and blend them in until the dough forms a ball. Handle the dough as lightly as you can. Avoid overmixing, or the scones won't be as tender!

Pat the dough into a flattish round shape, a little over an inch thick, and cut into 8 wedges (you could also use round cookie cutters!). Place the wedges on the prepared baking sheet, giving them a little space to expand. Bake for 15 minutes or until the top of the scones are set and golden brown. Mine were finished at about 13 minutes, but that could because my "oven" is teeny.

Serve warm, with an assortment of spreads, or just the way they are!