Sconing Around ...

today's batch; cherry-walnut

I'm still making scones, frequently enough that I can have one every morning (except Sunday--but that's another story). My pan allows for eight slots, so every week or so I need to make a batch. Although I've done numerous kinds over the years (blueberry was an Adventure in Stain), I've settled into a rotation in recent months: cherry-walnut and maple-pecan. Back and forth, forth and back.

I use natural, local ingredients whenever possible (local maple syrup, local honey; organic flour; etc.), and I make sure they're pretty much cholesterol-free (nuttin' like some nice soy butter, you know?).

After they cool from the oven, I freeze them, taking one out each morning (except for Sunday (see above)) and zapping it in the microwave just before I head over to the coffee shop (around 7 am). I munch away while I read the New York Times on my Kindle--while I check email--while I check Facebook. The scone is usually Long Gone by the time I reach FB, though. I'm tempted, of course, to eat, you know, two (or more) each morning, but--so far at least--I've resisted the Evil Voice in my head. (The Evil Voice has become less persuasive in a variety of ways as I've gotten older.)

I've posted the recipe before on this site (search: scones-dawnreader), and it's really not all that novel. I found the basic recipe online, then modified it to my own peculiar tastes and interest. It takes about 45 minutes from Point A ("I think I'll make scones today!") to Point B ("Should I eat a fresh one right now?"--the Evil Voice, of course).

As I type right now--10 a.m.--they are cooling in the baking pan, and in a sec I will walk out to the kitchen and de-pan them and put them on a cooling rack (and ignore, probably, the Evil Voice's urgings while I'm doing so).

I started doing this a few years ago, baking scones every week--can't remember why. But now I'm hooked. I don't know what I would do if I ran out and didn't have one to carry with me for my morning Caffeine Fix. But I'm pretty sure I would fracture, break into tiny pieces, slide to the sidewalk, where some birds and bugs would gather. You know ...