Apricot Ginger Scones

Guess what I got?? I have coffee!

When I was in college, & then later living on my own, I was a regular at La Vie en Rose Bakery, downing cups of Tony’s French Roast & Apricot Ginger Scones. Now that I’ve bought myself a coffee press, & Tony’s is carried locally, I was feeling sentimental & thought I’d make myself some scones.

1 3/4 c. all-purpose flour

1/3 c. granulated sugar

1 Tbs. baking powder (Yes, you read it right. I swear.)

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg

6 Tbs. (3/4 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes

2/3 c. dried apricots, chopped

1/4 c. crystallized ginger, chopped

1 egg

1/2 c. buttermilk

Preheat an oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. (Alternative! If you discover that you have no parchment paper, and are scrambling wildly through your kitchen, freaking out about the temperature of the oven and the butter in the dough you just laid out, which ideally has to be cold when it goes into the oven!! ….you could cheat like me, and place the wedges around a glass pyrex pie dish. That baked the scones just fine, just add about five minutes to the cooking time.)

In a moderately large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and nutmeg. Using a pastry blender, cut the butter into the dry ingredients, until the mixture forms coarse crumbs about the size of peas. Stir in the apricots and ginger. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg and buttermilk until blended. Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and, using a rubber spatula, stir just until evenly moistened. The dough will be sticky.

Turn out the dough onto a floured work surface and press gently into a round roughly 8 inches in diameter. Using a sharp knife or a fancy dough cutter, cut the round into at least 6 equal wedges. I cut mine into 8 because the I like the symmetry of cutting things into quarters, then cutting dividing those in half each, until you have 8. Ask me to make six, and I’ll be able to do it to my satisfaction maybe 1 in 5 times, if it’s a good day. Place the wedges on the prepared sheet, spacing them about 1 inch apart. Bake until the scones are golden brown, 15 to 17 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack, let cool slightly and serve warm. If you do it right, they’ll still be moist enough to eat with satisfaction when they’re cold. Makes 6-8 scones.