These scones, created by Carrie Levin, restaurant owner and author of
The Good Enough to Eat Breakfast Cookbook (Warner Books © 2001) are in a class by themselves, inspired by the first ones she ate 30 years ago in a restaurant overlooking the white cliffs of Dover. (The British serve their "skahns" with strawberry jam and clotted cream.) Try Carrie's with her extra-special
Strawberry Butter.
step 1Preheat the oven to 350°.
step 2Cut the butter into small (1/4-inch) chunks, rewrap it in the paper, and return it to the refrigerator.
step 3In large bowl mix all dry ingredients, including the sugar.
step 4In separate bowl or measuring cup, beat 1 egg and combine with buttermilk.
step 5Take butter chunks out of fridge and combine with dry mix a few at a time. Put both hands in the bowl and roll the flour between thumb and fingers, letting contents drop back into bowl each time. Finished batter should have a gravelly texture—shot through with uneven-sized pebbles of butter.
step 6Comb the buttermilk-egg mixture into the butter flour "gravel" using a fork (or fingers), then add the apple cubes, blending though the batter just enough to be able to make two equal-sized balls. (Sooner is better than—don't overwork this dough!)
step 7Gently flatten the balls into two disks about 5 to 6 inches in diameter.
"Pizza-slice" each disk into 4 triangular sections.
step 8Place the scones on an ungreased cookie sheet.
step 9Beat the second egg and brush it on the scones as a glaze.
step 10Bake for 20 minutes until golden brown.