weekend baking \\ date scones

i've been craving date scones for awhile now, especially the ones from baker's delight. in the microwave for 10 seconds and slather on with some butter, yum. what's better than a warm date scone with butter? of course one that is homemade and eaten fresh out of the oven. 

i had my heart set on having date scones for breakfast on Sunday morning so i found a fairly easy to follow recipe online Saturday morning and bought all the ingredients during out weekly groceries shop. to minimise the amount of time i need to make them on Sunday morning, i did all my prep work on Saturday night before i went to bed. i measured the flour and sugar and mixed them in a mixing bowl, i measured my butter and cut them into cubes, i chopped up the dates and i also made sure i have all the tools i need like a rolling pin and a scone cutter ready to go on the kitchen bench. 

on Sunday morning, instead of lying in, i got out of bed at 8am to make scones for the family. within 15 mins, the scones were in the oven baking and 20 mins later, we have freshly baked scones for breakfast. whilst it wasn't as fluffy as baker's delight, i still enjoyed it and i think i prefer this method of scone making to the thickened cream and lemonade method. 

ingredients \\

350g self raising flour

1 pinch of salt

30g caster sugar

40g unsalted butter, chilled

1 egg

175ml milk

180g dried dates, cut into quaters

method \\

pre heat the oven to 180C. Line a baking tray with baking paper.

sieve the flour, salt and sugar together into a mixing bowl. dice the butter into small cubes and add to the dry ingredients. using your fingertips, rub the butter into the flour until it resembles fine sand.

once the butter is incorporated, make a well in the centre. mix the egg, milk and dates together and pour the mixture into the well of the dry ingredients. mix together to form a dough and turn out onto a floured surface.

roll the dough with a rolling pin to 5cm thickness and using a round cutter, cut out 12 scones.

brush the tops with a little beaten egg yolk for a glossy finish (optional). arrange the scones on the baking tray in a way that they are touching each other slightly and bake in the pre-heated oven for 15 mins.

remove the scones from the oven and cool on a baking rack. serve with butter or jam or both.