So many recipes for scone and hardly any of them have the same process!  When I find one I would like to try I always convert it to my process.  My process came from working and owning a bakery.  This is how to bake like an expert at home!

When you find a recipe you think would taste great, just think of it in terms of dry and wet ingredients to keep separate until the end, toppings, different stuff for inside like dry fresh or frozen fruits, nuts, citrus, chocolate chips, leftovers in your frig like sweet potato, pumpkin, etc.  Savory Scones are also a possibility with spices and cheese.

Here's how to start:

Preheat oven to 425.

Zest one or two oranges, lemons or limes.  Wash the fruit first them use the small side of your grater.  You can add the juice later if you like with the other liquids.

Add 1 cup of sugar and mix in your mixer.  If you don't have a Kitchen-aid -STOP AND GO GET ONE! They are the best and a good price for what you get.  OK, you can use another brand, but remember I warned you.  Use the flat attachment (or whatever 'thing' you got with your non-Kitchen-aid) and let it whirl around while you gather other ingredients.  The sugar will crush the zest and your house will smell awesome.

Then add 1 teaspoon vanilla,  This is a good time to call all the kids around for a treat and give 1/4 teaspoon each.  At this point they will want to hang around to 'help' but tell them this is your special alone time and get out.

Add:
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons of baking power

1 cup flour
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup whole oats

and mix thoroughly.  You can let this go for a while and it won't hurt anything.  But when you add the liquids stay with it to get it to just moist or a crumble stage.  If you over mix it will be tough.  Scones are 'short' like shortbread cookies, pie crust or crumb topping.  They are kinda dry with layers of butter intentionally not mixed together but keep in separate.  Speaking of which:

Add:
1 stick of cold butter cut up into about 50 pieces.

This isn't difficult, cut the butter right from the frig into 1/4 inch slices short-ways then two cuts longways and voila!

Mix with the dry ingredients until the butter is pea sized.  Have you noticed we are not bothering with additional bowls?  I like less dishes!

CAUTION:  Now the liquids.  Pause after about 1.5 cups and see if it comes together or not.  Add just a little (like a tablespoon) at a time.  Once on an especially humid day I only got 1.25 cups total, so watch it if you live in South Georgia like I do.
1 cup plain yogurt
Juice from the fruit you zested (optional)
1/2 to 1 cup milk

When just crumbly (it's perfectly OK if there some dry down at the bottom) add either dry or frozen fruit.  I like dry cranberries or frozen blueberries.  Mix very little -like only 1 or 2 times around the bowl.  The rest you will do by hand.

Dump the crumbly dough on a baking sheet pan -I prefer stoneware.  Don't have stone -what's wrong with you?  I either cover with a piece of plastic wrap or use the paper the butter was wrapped in to shape it into a disk that is 1/2 inch flat and round.  (I put half it it into a freezer bag and freeze it for another day and make a second flavor for today cause everything is already dirty, and freeze half of that...)




In a separate small microwaveable bowl (yea, i know, but it's unavoidable.)
1 Tablespoon butter
1/2 cup nuts
1 Tablespoon brown sugar
Microwave until melted and mix spread evenly on top of disk.

Now cut the disk like a pie into 8 pieces or more and use your big knife to separate the pieces to spread out over the baking sheet.  Bake for 15 minutes.

As you sit there eating one to all of the scones, think about what you like about it and get creative for next time.