The dull gloomy skies this morning made me feel the urge to have something different for breakfast today. Something warm and crispy on the outside and soft and fluffy on the inside would be perfect for such a morning. Something that would make the day start on an upbeat note. But nothing too tedious either. The last thing I was looking forward to was to clean up the kitchen first thing in the morning. If that were to happen, I’d probably have a mood to match the gray outside. And then…as if by magic, the answer popped into my head. SCONES!

Ingredients:

2 cups all purpose flour

2 tbsp granulated sugar

1 tbsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

3 tbsp very COLD butter

1/2 cup milk

2 eggs (remove 2 tbsp of egg white into a separate bowl)

2 tbsp granulated sugar + 2 tbsp brown sugar (mixed in a small bowl)

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 450F.
2. Mix the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl with a whisk.



3. Cut the cold butter into small pieces (not tiny!) and drop them into the flour.



4. Rub the butter into the flour using your fingertips until the flour resembles oatmeal.



5. Beat the egg lightly in a bowl. Then add the milk to the eggs and mix to combine.
6. Make a well in the flour. Then pour the milk-eggs mixture into the well.



7. Using a fork, mix the ingredients in the bowl until just combined. It’s going to be wet. Check out the way it sticks to the sides of the bowl.



8. Sprinkle some flour on your work surface. Roll out the dough on to it and knead a little to bring it together. Then shape it into a circle or a rectangle 3/4 inch thick.



9. Using a VERY SHARP knife, cut the dough into 8 wedges (if a circle) or 9 squares (if a rectangle).
10. Line a baking tray with parchment paper. Transfer the pieces onto the tray leaving some space between the pieces.



11. Using a pastry brush (I just used my finger tips), dip into the separated egg white and spread over the top of the pieces. Then sprinkle the sugar and brown sugar mixture on the egg coated pieces.



12. Pop them into the oven for 10 - 15minutes.
13. Look at them yummy scones. Serve with butter and jam and fresh fruits.



Tips:

• The butter needs to be very cold so that it will not make your flour wet. Washing your hands with cold water (and drying them first, of course!) before rubbing the butter into the flour helps.
• You can add raisins or nuts before step 6. My kids prefer them plain.
• Dust your hands with flour to make handling the dough easier.

Original Recipe from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnKvQbgJJEU&feature=related