wake up. savor my cup of coffee outside on the deck, soaking in the sounds of lincoln park embarking on its first full weekend day.
throw on some clothes, put in the headphones, jump on the bike to the lake shore path or through lincoln park. breathe in freedom and gratitude, breathe out stress and anxiety. stroll down to the farmers market.
take in the sights and smells. linger over piles of heirloom tomatoes, expensive boxes of pesticide-free berries. shoulder my way between the bunches of irises and hydrangeas poking out of cloth shopping bags and past the dangerous hoosier mama pies and bennington’s breads booths. pick up a little something at growing home, the social enterprise where veggies and farming are literally healing people. always something old, something new…this time rhubarb.
circle back home. sink into my armchair with my next cup of coffee and a breakfast bite, watching this old house hour and dreaming about doing it all over again tomorrow.
Rhubarb Scones
Crunchy on top with a light and flaky texture inside, the rhubarb lends a delicious tart tang to these scones, which have just the right amount of sweetness. They're super easy to pull throw together for breakfast after the farmer's market, and can be frozen individually before or after baking for a delicious treat anytime.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 c sliced rhubarb aka 2 stalks or about half pound
- 1/4 c maple syrup
- 1/4 c white sugar
- 1 tbsp minced fresh ginger
- 1 tsp lemon zest roughly half a lemon
- 2 1/2 c white whole wheat flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 c cold butter, diced into small cubes
- 3/4 c buttermilk, separated you’ll start with 1/2 c in the dough, then likely add another 1/4 c
- 2 tbsp buttermilk for brushing the tops of scones
- 2 tbsp turbinado sugar I bought a 2lb box of turbinado sugar at the store just for this purpose: it was worth it.
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 375.
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In a small bowl, combine the sliced rhubarb, maple syrup, sugar, ginger and lemon zest and stir to mix together.
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In a separate large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and soda and salt. Dice the cold butter (I like to split it in half lengthwise, rotate and split again, then cut crosswise 6-7 times), and add the cubes to the dry mix. Using your hands, cut the butter into the flour until there are flakes/chunks the size of peas or bran flakes…this will take about two minutes. Feel free to use a pastry cutter or maybe even a food processer (though honestly it’s one more thing to clean, and this is so easy).
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Start by adding 1/2 c buttermilk to the dough mixture and fold in with a spatula. You’ll probably use all 3/4 c of the buttermilk, but starting with a little less lets you add the rest a bit at a time until the dough is no longer dry and has come together – but isn’t very wet. You might even hold off on the rest of the buttermilk till after the next step.
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Add the rhubarb mixture into the large bowl and fold into the dough using a spatula, being careful not to overmix. You want the fruit and sugar to be incorporated and the dough should be wet enough to hold together – so if you didn’t use all the buttermilk in the prior step, add it now. The maple syrup in the rhubarb mixture adds moisture, so it’s always better to reserve a bit of the buttermilk for this step.
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Turn the dough out onto a clean board. At this point, it’s your choice – you can divide the dough in half and shape into two equal rounds to make 16 smaller scones, or you can do one larger round to make 8 larger scones. I made two rounds of smaller scones so that, duh, I could eat TWO scones a day (one for breakfast and one for afternoon tea!) and feel all indulgent! Either way, the round will be about 1 inch thick.
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Brush the top of each round with buttermilk (use the remaining 2 T), then sprinkle generously with turbinado sugar.
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Slice each round in half, then in half again, then in half again and again to get 8 equal wedges.
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Transfer each round to a baking sheet lined with parchment, spacing out the wedges by about a half inch to allow for quicker cooking and the perfect balance of fluffy rise and crispy top.
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For two rounds: Bake, rotating pans halfway through, for about 32 minutes, until tops are light golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean.
Michael Pecoraro says
Loved this post. I am ready to visit and sit on your deck to enjoy one of your cocktails.