Utah Scones Recipes

Steps:

• Dissolve yeast in the 1/2 cup of warm water.
• Add the tablespoon of sugar to the yeast-water mixture and set aside.
• Beat the 3 eggs in a small bowl and set aside.
• Put honey, brown sugar, smart balance, and salt in a large bowl (preferably the bowl for your Kitchen-Aid mixer, if you have one).
• Add 1 cup boiling water to the large bowl (with the sugar, salt, etc.).
• Add the 3 beaten eggs to the large bowl and mix.
• Add the yeast mixture to the large bowl.
• Slowly add the flour to the large bowl while mixing.
• Continue beating the mixture with a mixer until smooth.
• Cover the bowl with a dish towel, and let the dough rise for 1 hour.
• Refrigerate the dough until cold. (Sometimes it's nice to make the dough the night before, and finish them in the morning).
• Roll the dough out on a floured surface to about 1/4" thin (careful not to get any water on it, as water and deep-frying DO NOT MIX!).
• Heat oil with a high smoke point (peanut oil, sunflower oil, safflower oil, canola oil in a pinch) in a deep-fryer or electric skillet to around 350 degrees F. Make sure not to use olive oil, as it has a low smoke point and is not suited for deep-frying. Use a deep-frying thermometer to check the temperature of the oil, if at all possible. (Make sure to have at least 2 inches of clearance between the top of the skillet and the top of the oil to allow room for bubbling). If your oil starts to smoke (and you'll know it if this happens! Oil smoke smells really nasty), turn off the heat, let the oil cool, then throw out the oil; it's no good.
• While oil is heating, cut the dough into pieces, 4 inch squares seem best to me, but you can make them smaller or larger.
• Fry the pieces of dough in the heated oil, preferably one at a time, until puffy and golden brown. Remove from oil using an all-metal utensil.
• Place on paper towels to cool, but serve warm with the topping of your choice.

Steps:

• In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. In another large bowl, combine the buttermilk, egg, oil, sugar, salt, baking soda, yeast mixture and 2 cups flour; beat on medium until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a stiff dough. , Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour., Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; roll dough into a 16x8-in. rectangle. Cut into 24 rectangles. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let rest for 1 hour., In a deep cast-iron or electric skillet, heat oil to 375°. Fry scones, a few at a time, until golden brown on both sides, about 2-3 minutes. Drain on paper towels., For honey butter, in a large bowl, combine butter, honey, confectioners' sugar and vanilla; beat until smooth. Spread on scones.

Steps:

• For the buttermilk and honey butter: combine the first 4 ingredients in a food processor and turn on high. The liquid will slosh, whip, and then separate after 4 minutes. When the mixture separates, stop processing and strain out the buttermilk--there should be exactly 3/4 cup, which is what you need for the scones. Strain out the butter and squeeze dry.
• For the scones: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
• In a food processor bowl add flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
• Add cold butter cubes and pulse until you have a texture of coarse bread crumbs.
• Transfer to a large mixing bowl. Toss berries (which have been washed and dried thoroughly) in a small amount of flour and add them to the mixture.
• Add the buttermilk and either toss with a fork or fold with a spatula to incorporate the berries without smashing them. Mix to combine, but don't over mix.
• Drop spoonfuls of dough onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Using a pastry brush, paint the tops of each scone lightly with buttermilk or a bit of milk and sprinkle with sugar.
• Bake until golden brown, and nice and puffy, about 10-15 minutes.
• Serve warm with orange honey butter.
• Notes: if you are making a scone with juice, add that after you do the buttermilk step. When I use fresh fruit juice, I don't put any sugar in the dough recipe because I think it makes it too sweet. You want to stick with small to medium scones here. Large ones will be too dark outside and under cooked inside.