Strawberry Almond Scones

For anyone that pays attention to how frequently or in this case, infrequently I post, you know I am way behind!  I will getting as many posts written and up this week!
While I haven't eaten scones from Starbucks or other restaurants to have fully experienced them as baked by professionals, the pictures I see on Pinterest always look so amazing so I found myself somewhat curious and excited to give them a try, again.

These are a slight variation from the source, I switched fruits as strawberries had a better price than raspberries.  Still turned out so good!  From everything I have read, the trick with scones is making sure you don't over stir or over mix the dough.  If the dough gets over mixed the gluten will develop and result in dryer scones, less than ideal!  Of course I couldn't find a guide, maybe I didn't look hard enough, that showed me the difference between under mixed, perfectly mixed and over mixed dough, so I just had to be my own judge.

I must have done something right, these turned out pretty light and flakey!  I am a big fan of almond flavoring so these were perfect for a Saturday morning!  In the future though, I need to invite friends over when I want to make scones so I don't end up eating half a pan!

The ingredients are fairly standard, except for the strawberries and the cream, I had everything on hand.

Hard to tell in this picture, but I guess this is what dough looks like if it isn't under or over mixed.  I like scones cause you don't roll it thin and it doesn't matter if it isn't perfectly round.  One thing a little different is that you do cut these prior to baking.  Sometimes cutting something while hot is next to impossible, so another bonus for scones.

Bake, add a simple glaze and try not to eat them all!

Strawberry Almond Scones
As originally found on Two Peas and Their Pod

Ingredients


2 cups flour
1 Tbl baking powder
3 Tbls sugar
1/2 tsp salt
6 Tbls frozen butter, cut up or shredded
1 cup heavy cream, plus 1 tablespoon, divided
1/4 tsp almond extract
1/3 cup sliced almonds
1 cup strawberries (or raspberries)

For the Almond Glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
4-5 Tbl heavy cream or milk
1/2 tsp almond extract
1/4 cup sliced almonds, for garnish

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Line large baking sheet with parchment paper or spray thoroughly.  Set aside.  In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, sugar and salt.  Quickly cut in butter using pastry blender or 2 knives.  Mix until mixture resembles coarse meal, with a few larger butter lumps.  Pour in 1 cup of the cream and almond extract and stir with spatula until dough begins to form.  Be careful not to over mix.  Gently fold in fruit and almonds.
2. Transfer dough to lightly floured counter top and knead dough until it forms a ball.  Form scones by patting the dough int a 3/4" thick circle.  Cut the scones into even triangles.  Should yield 8-12.
3. Place scones on prepared baking pan, leaving room to raise.  Using pastry brush, brush scones lightly with additional cream.  Bake for 15-18 minutes or until they are a light brown around the edges.  
4. While the scones are cooling, mix up the glaze: whisk together powdered sugar, cream and almond extract.  Whisk until you reach the desired consistency.  Drizzle glaze over warm scones.  Top with additional almonds.  
Enjoy!