Snow falls outside as I type. As much as I dread this weather, I'm also grateful for it. We're forced to take a break from running around and slow things down a bit. On these days, Eric and I sit in front of our coffee table, reading the paper and nibbling on scones. I like to use this time to get some cleaning done, but after a few hours, we hunker down for a midday nap. These last few months (that is, since November) have been a bit hectic. Any open days have been packed with trips, parties, and family visits (which I love, but---you know---once in a while it's nice to have a little alone time). As miserable as it may be to trudge through three feet of snow, it's some much needed relaxation.
As you may have noticed, I'm a scone fan. Some folks are into brownies. Some are pie fanatics. Some folks deep-fry everything they see. Me? I'm into scones. Kind of strange, I know. So, if you're getting tired of seeing scone recipes on here... well, I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I'm not even close to being done with playing around with different kinds. You're going to have to put up with them for a while longer.
This is the first time I've branched outside of my typical butter/milk/heavy cream combo and have included Greek yogurt (we had a few large tubs of plain Chobani in the fridge). The tang it provides is something I should have expected, but for whatever reason it never occurred to me and I was pleasantly surprised when I bit into them. They're a little less flakey than my previous incarnations (most likely due to the moisture for the yogurt), but, nevertheless, I'm sold on these and I've already made them a number of times.
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Rosemary, Lemon and Greek Yogurt Scones
makes 8-10 scones
Ingredients
2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cold and cut into small chunks
1/2 cup Greek yogurt
1/2 cup milk
5 tbsps chopped fresh rosemary leaves
Zest of 1 lemon
Juice of 1 lemon
2 tbsps honey
All-purpose flour, for the work surface
Directions
1. Place rack in middle of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the first five ingredients. Add the butter to the bowl and, using two knives or a pastry blender (you can even just give it a couple pulses in the food processor), cut into the dry ingredients until the butter has mixed in, but there should still be a few pea-sized pieces of butter still in there.
3. Stir in the yogurt and mix until it is fully incorporated.
4. Slowly add the milk to the mixture, stirring to make sure it is fully incorporated. If the dough looks like it is moist enough, you can leave out a little of the liquid.
5. Stir in the rosemary and lemon zest.
6. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and knead a couple of times. Flatten the dough out until it is about 1 1/2 inches thick (should be about 8 or so inches wide). Cut into 8 to 10 triangles and transfer the wedges to a baking sheet that has been lined with parchment paper.
7. In a bowl, whisk together the honey and lemon juice. Brush the top of each scone with the lemon-honey mixture.
8. Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown. If they don't brown, you can place them under the broiler for a minute, but be sure to keep an eye on them to make sure they don't burn.
9. Let cool on wire rack and enjoy!
