scones

This morning I was kind of in a pinch--I only had enough rice for Satoshi's musubi (rice ball) which he takes to work, and didn't have any bread in the house for breakfast.

I remembered a recipe for scones that I saw on the Blue Lotus' blog. She actually got the recipe from the Scent of Green Bananas' blog. I had printed it out and was going to try it soon, but since I needed something (fast) to go with breakfast, I decided to try it.

Simple scones

2 cups self-rising flour
2 tbsp sugar
1 to 1-1/2 cups heavy whipping cream

Preheat oven to 450F (230C).

Mix all ingredients together to form a stiff dough. Knead on a floured surface lightly, then roll out the dough to desired thickness and cut out as desired. You can rework the scraps to cut out more. Bake for 10-12 minutes until puffy and lightly golden.

Microwave strawberry jam

1 punnet of strawberries
1 vanilla bean, slit down the middle
sugar to taste (1/2 to 1 cup, usually)

Place all ingredients in a microwavable bowl. Microwave on "high" for 6-8 minutes, until all the sugar has dissolved and the strawberry juices have thickened slightly. Refrigerate until ready to use (this will taste better after several days, but can be used immediately).

Note: This recipe IS really simple. Not many ingredients involved and not much to do but mix! I made my scones too thin though, and will try to make them thicker the next time I try this recipe. I also sifted all the ingredients and I think this is what helped to make the scones REALLY light and flaky. I didn't try the recipe for the jam since I am trying to cut down on the use of my microwave and I want to try the recipe with a real vanilla pod in the mixture.

Other notes: to make self-rising flour I put 2 tsp. of baking powder for every 1 cup of flour.
A punnet (according to Merriam-Webster Online) is a small basket for fruits or vegetables.

Enjoy!