Apricot Scones

Thanks, Anne for inviting me to post after I shamelessly asked you to invite me! hee hee...


The other day I read that one of my favorite blogfriends made scones, and ever since then I had a craving. So I lifted this recipe off of the King Arthur Flour website. If you've never visited their recipe section, I suggest checking it out. It is a treasure trove of decadence.


It really was silly for me to make these, since I'm basically the only one who will end up eating them and they are very rich. They're really better suited for company, so my advice is to plan a nice little tea party. Get out your nice linens and invite the girls over for some:


Apricot Cream Cheese Scones


3 1/4 cups (13 3/4 ounces) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1/2 cup (3 1/2 ounces) granulated sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
8-ounce package cream cheese (cold)
1/2 cup (1 stick, 4 ounces) cold butter
1 cup (4 1/2 ounces) diced or slivered apricots
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/4 cup (2 ounces) milk
white sugar, for topping


In a medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Cut in the cream cheese and butter, using your fingers, a pastry blender, fork, or a mixer, until the mixture resembles coarse cornmeal, then stir in the apricots. In a separate bowl whisk together the egg, vanilla and milk.Combine the liquid and dry ingredients and stir until the dough becomes cohesive. Don't mix and mix and mix; the more you work with the dough, the tougher it'll get. Remember: an iron fist in a velvet glove does the trick!


Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface, and fold it over several times, until it holds together. Pat the dough into a 3/4-inch thick rectangle.Cut scones with a round cutter, gathering the scraps and re-rolling the dough. Or simply cut the dough into squares or diamonds. Brush the tops lightly with milk and sprinkle with sparkling white or pearl sugar.Place scones about 2 inches apart on an ungreased or parchment-lined baking sheet.


Bake them in a preheated 425°F oven for 8 minutes. Turn the oven off, leave the door closed, and continue to bake for 8 more minutes, until the scones are a light, golden brown. Serve hot, with clotted cream and jam or raspberry curd. Yield: about 18 medium-sized scones.


I actually used a scone pan, which only makes 8 large scones, so I ended up baking them for twice the amount of time given. Also, I used generic Safeway flour and still turned out great. It was hard to keep little hands away long enough to take a picture of them, which I took as a good sign!