Here’s a nice recipe for scones, which uses a food processor. Agnes (of A Perfect Plan) would have loved to have this recipe and loved having an oven with a thermostat, a freezer and a food processor, too!

 Start-up

Freeze a stick of butter until it’s pretty hard (15 – 20 minutes).  Leave it in the freezer until you’re ready to use it.

Line a cookie sheet (parchment or a silicone liner both work. I think waxed paper  – with the waxed side down – would, too, but I haven’t tried it).

Preheat oven to about 400

Set up a cooling rack with a sheet under it (for cooling and glazing).

Directions

In your food processor bowl, put

2 cups flour

1/4-1/2 cup sugar (per your taste and if you’re adding in dried fruit or other sweet food )

about 1/2 to 3/4 tsp salt (per your taste and also whether the butter is salted)

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

a little bit of orange or lemon zest (if you want)

Pulsethese ingredients a few times to mix them well

Cut into small cubes

1 stick butter, frozen (if you don’t have a food processor, you can grate the frozen butter on a coarse grater or cut it into tiny pieces. Work fast!))

Put the butter into the flour mix and pulse (if you don’t have a food processor, work with your hands or two forks) until it’s pretty well blended, with small bits of butter still visible. Work as quickly as you can so the butter doesn’t get too blended into the flour mix.

Add

1/2 cup sour  cream (or 1/4 cup sour cream and 1/4 cup plain yoghurt)

1 egg

1/2 cup of whatever dried fruit you might like to add, chopped if necessary. Consider the add-ins and the the scones flavorings: orange zest with dried cranberries is a great combination (with lemon glaze, though, unless you have pretty sour oranges). Lemon zest and dried blueberries, with lemon glaze is also terrific.

Pulse until it forms a cohesive dough, which will be sticky. If you don’t have a food processor, mix and then lightly knead the dough.

Flour a work space, and turn the dough out onto it. Flour your hands and pat the dough a circle that’s about a  half inch thick.

Flour a metal scraper or a knife,  and cut the dough into 8 wedges.

Place them on the lined baking sheet at least 1″ apart..

Bake at 400 degrees for about 17 or 18 minutes, until just starting to brown.

Remove from the pan and set them on the cooling rack.

 To glaze 

Mix with a fork (and then maybe a whisk) until smooth and free of lumps

1¼ cups confectioner’s sugar

Abt ¼ cup lemon juice, or milk (if you’re using milk, you might want to put in a pinch of salt and a bit of vanilla extract)

 Drizzle glaze over the scones. Let sit about ½ hour for the glaze to set.

 These are best (I think) at room temp. Enjoy!