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How to Bake Homemade Vanilla Bean Scones

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These Homemade Vanilla Baked Scones are fabulous for breakfast, with a cup of coffee or tea.Baking your own scones can be cheaper than bakery bought, and much easier to make that you might think. I can have scones in the oven in 15 minutes, and enjoy them in under 40 minutes. I even freeze scones, individually, in plastic wrap. Frozen scones can be baked and turned out just as well as freshly made.

 

 

I taught myself how to make my own homemade jam a few years ago, and I was relieved to learn that canning isn’t hard to do.  The days of using wax seals are in our grandparent’s past.  Today, the jar lids are self-sealing.  The bonus of making my own jam (besides it being fun) is I know what’s in the jar (like no high fructose corn syrup).  I also find homemade jam to be cost-effective and they make great gifts! Who doesn’t love receiving a jar of homemade jam?  My advice to anyone who has always wanted to learn how to can is to go to the Ball Canning Website.  There is so much information for all levels of “canners”– from beginners to the experienced.

 

 
The morning after I made these jams in my new Ball Jam & Jelly Maker — in less than 30 minutes, no less– I discovered that there was no bread for toast making, in the house!  What to do?
 
Aha!  Make scones!  Scones are fast and easy to make.  While I’m not the biggest fan of biscuits (except for the Bacon & Cheddar Cheese Scones that I created, with a fabulous chipotle butter), I like scones because they are sweet– but not cloyingly sweet.
 
The first scone recipe I ever made was this Strawberry Scone Recipe (and my photography skills were still in their infancy). With Pumpkin Season, just around the corner, I’ll be making my Harvest Pumpkin Scones, too.

 

I developed a healthier Blueberry Oatmeal Maple Scones version (using whole wheat, and oats) and  King Arthur Flour’s Unbleached Self-Rising Flour.  I’ve never used self-rising flour, before, because I’m committed to only using unbleached flour.  My local grocery stores carry many of King Arthur Flour’s products, but so far, I have to order the self-rising on their website.
NOTE: Self rising flour can be made by substituting 1 cup of all purpose flour minus 2 tsp, with the addition of 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder and 1/2tsp. salt to make the full cup
 
I decided to make a Vanilla Bean Scone, to complement the Strawberry-Raspberry jam. Once again, I used one tablespoon of vanilla bean paste.  (You can substitute vanilla extract, of course.  Vanilla bean paste is more economical that using vanilla beans.)  The texture is similar to honey, but you can see vanilla seed in it.  I whisked the vanilla bean paste into whole milk to let the flavor infuse a bit.
 
 
The key to making tender scones, is to keep all of the ingredients nice and cold (just like making a pie crust).  TIP: I grate frozen butter, instead of using a pastry cutter. I find this easier to do, and my fingers don’t have to work so hard to incorporate the butter– and I don’t warm up the butter as much.
Instead of using a rolling pin, I simply dump the dough onto a lightly floured surface and gently pat the dough into a circle.  Then I cut the circle into eight wedges.

 

 
 
You can shape the dough into a rectangle, and cut them into smaller wedges, like I did with these Meyer Lemon Poppy Seed Scones.   Some folks like to use a round cutter, to shape the scones differently.  Your choice.TIP: If time permits, place the scones on a parchment covered baking sheet and freeze for about 15 minutes.  This helps the scones to become ultra-tender.
 
I thought about making a vanilla bean sugar glaze, but decided that the jam would be sweet enough. I like to brush each unbaked scone with a little heavy cream…

…then sprinkle the scones with some  Course Sparkling Sugar (for a texture and crunch).

I baked four of the scones for about 17 minutes, until light golden brown.  The remaining four scones were individually wrapped with plastic wrap and placed into my freezer.  The advantage of this is that we are not tempted to eat all eight of them– and baked frozen scones turned out perfectly!

Warm scones, homemade jam and a fresh cup of coffee– what a great way to start the morning!

TASTING NOTES:  The scones were really tender and crumbly. I love the crunch of the coarse sugar.  The beauty of scone baking is that you can add anything you want– raisins, currants, chopped dried fruit, nuts, no nuts, chocolate chips– the sky is the limit!  I love scones with clotted cream and homemade jam. (One of these days, I’m going to learn how to make my own Devonshire Cream.) Yum!  I’m having fun using self-rising flour, so I don’t have to worry about measuring baking powder or salt.  You can easily adapt this to use regular flour, if you want.

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Vanilla Bean Scones

Baking your own scones can be cheaper than bakery bought, and much easier to make that you might think. I can have scones in the oven in 15 minutes, and enjoy them in under 40 minutes. I even freeze scones, individually, in plastic wrap. Frozen scones can be baked and turned out just as well as freshly made.
Author: Debby – www.AFeastfortheEyes.net

Ingredients

  • 4 cups King Arthur Unbleached Self-Rising Flour
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup cold butter*
  • 3/4 cup milk or light cream
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 tablespoons vanilla bean paste or 2 teaspoons pure vanilla
  • Coarse granulate or turbinado sugar optional
  • 2 tablespoons heavy cream or light cream optional

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 400°F.
  • Whisk the vanilla bean paste to the light cream or whole milk to infuse the flavor.
  • In a large bowl, whisk the flour and sugar together. Grate the frozen butter on top of the dry ingredients.
  • Blend, together the milk, vanilla and eggs. Gently combine the wet ingredients to the dry. Turn the mixture onto a lightly floured work surface and fold over once or twice, just until it binds together. Don’t worry if you see bits of dried flour.
  • Pat the dough into a circle, about 3/4 inch thick– or into a 3/4-inch thick rectangle. If patted into a circle, cut into eight wedges. If cutting into a rectangle, cut into approximately 2 1/2 inch squares.
  • Optional: Once the dough is placed on a baking sheet, freeze them for up to 15 minutes. Otherwise, place the scones onto an ungreased or parchment lined baking sheet.
  • Optional: Brush each scone with heavy cream and sprinkle with coarse sugar, for a textured crunch.
  • Bake them at 400°F oven for 12 to 16 minutes, or until light golden brown.
  • Allow to cool to warm and serve with butter and jam, or clotted cream.

Notes

*NOTE: Self rising flour can be made by substituting 1 cup of all purpose flour minus 2 teaspoons, with the addition of 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon salt to make the full cup.
NOTE: For tender scones, you don’t want to overwork the dough and you’ll want to keep your ingredients as cold as possible. Chunks of butter, chilled in the dough, will create steam — and that means tender dough. I like to use frozen butter, and then grate it– which is much less work than using a pastry cutter or your fingers. Plus, it keeps the butter nice and cold.
Recipe source: Slightly adapted from King Arthur Flour
Tried this recipe?Mention @afeastfortheeyes or tag #afeastfortheeyesblog!
debby

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Comments

  3. Velva says

    I have discovered canning these last couple of years and I have been really enjoying it.

    Now scones are some of my favorite but I have not tackled making scones on my own. Yours are delightful with jam and a good cup of coffee.

    Velva

    Reply

  7. Cathy at Wives with Knives says

    Congrats to your lucky winners, Debby. Oh goodness, your scones look delicious and so tender. I recently discovered Singing Dog Vanilla's Vanilla Bean Paste and love it in recipes like this. I can almost taste your wonderful strawberry-rhubarb jam on one of the scones.

    Reply

  10. Ciao Chow Linda says

    I made scones only once this summer and they weren't vanilla bean scones. You are tempting me now to tackle this recipe next. Homemade jam – that's already done. Your strawberry jam looks perfect.

    Reply

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