Raspberry Heart Scones

It’s Saturday morning after a busy week and the slightest hint of Fall is in the air, taunting me.  Condensation dots the leaves of the plants on the patio outside the kitchen window and the occasional web of a familiar orange garden spider wafts lazily between the trees.  I know the cool air coming through the window needs to be appreciated because in a day or so, we’re expecting blistering temperatures even though the calendar is edging toward the autumnal equinox.

Flipping through the small stack of food magazines and cookbooks that seem to be a permanent fixture on my counter, I sip my coffee and talk about nothing in particular to my husband who is already perched in front of his laptop.  He’s usually the one in the kitchen on weekend mornings, but I remember the small container of raspberries in the fridge that were destined for yet another Bittman salad and ask, “Muffins or scones, honey?”

“Mmmm…scones,” is his quick response and I smile because I feel an experiment coming on.  Do I have to mix the raspberries in the batter?

Raspberry Heart Scones

2 c. all-purpose flour

1 T baking powder

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1 pinch kosher salt

4 T. unsalted butter, cut into small cubes & very cold

1/2 c. ground almonds

1/3 c. half-n-half

1/4 c. pure maple syrup

1 whole egg + 1 yolk

1 pkg. fresh raspberries

additional half-n-half & demerara optional

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Whisk first 4 dry ingredients together in a medium bowl.  With your fingers “pinch in” the cold butter thoroughly until the mixture looks like coarse meal.  Add the ground almonds.  In a large measuring cup, add the cream, maple syrup and eggs.  Whisk until well blended, then gently stir into the dry ingredients just until the dough is moist.  Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work space and press gently until it is about 1/2 inch thick.  Use a lightly floured heart-shaped cutter to press shapes in the dough and use a floured offset spatula to remove them to a parchment covered baking pan.  Gather remaining pieces of dough to repeat process.  You should have 8-9 two-inch scones.  Use your index finger to gently make 3 indentations in each of the hearts.  Place a raspberry in each.  Lightly brush each scone if desired with some half-n-half and sprinkle with demerara.  Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Using a fork, lightly mash the berries on the top of each scone.  Add a bit of soft butter and drizzle over some honey or maple syrup.  Enjoy with hot tea, coffee, or cocoa.  Fabulous.

Notes:

• I keep bags of ground almonds or “almond meal” in my pantry.  Trader Joe’s usually has it for a good price.  You can make your own by running whole almonds through your food processor.
• These scones are not overly sweet, and the almond meal gives them a nice bit of crunch.
• I baked them in my smaller oven on two racks so switched them at about 7 minutes.
• This dough is much more dry than what I’m used to, so incorporating the raspberries into this recipe would have been interesting at best.  Mashing the warm berries at the end really makes these special.
• This recipe was adapted from Susan Branch’s Vineyard Seasons.

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Tagged as: maple, raspberries, scones