Make It Monday - Strawberry Shortcake Scones

I love Facebook for many reasons but one of those reasons is that friends post recipes that they find and either want to try or, even better, have already tried!  I mean, whats better than a recipe tried by a friend who you trust to actually have tastebuds :-)  So, when I saw a friend post this recipe for Strawberry Shortcake Scones (adapted from Very Culinary) I knew I wanted to try them.  Originally I was going to make them for our camping trip a few weeks ago but I ran out of time to get them made so one day last week, on a whim because there was nothing sweet in the house to eat, I made a batch. 

They turned out pretty good.  A few things - They were actually better cold rather than still really warm.  There is something about the glaze that adds a lot of flavor once it had hardened.  They are even better the second day, heated up in the microwave for just about 20 seconds.  The dough, at least from my experience, was a lot looser than other scone dough I've worked with so I'm not sure if that was just caused by the juice in the strawberries or if I needed to add more flour.  They still cooked up well.  Also, I never, hardly ever have half and half in my fridge so I just used the fat free milk that is always there :-)

Here's a recipe for you to try :-)  These would actually be great to take to a brunch because, as I stated, they are better cold/at room temperature.

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 6 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
• 12 strawberries, hulled and diced
• 3/4 cup half and half

For the glaze

• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup half and half
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt. Add butter and cut in with a pastry blender (or your hands) until mixture resembles crumbs.
3. Toss in strawberries and coat lightly with the flour mixture. Add half and half and fold together gently until the mixture just begins to come together and form a soft dough. (Do not knead or over mix the dough.)
4. Turn dough out onto a floured surface and pat into a 1-inch thick rectangle. With a sharp knife, cut the rectangle into 6 squares, then cut the squares on the diagonal to form 12 triangles. Place scones on prepared baking sheet and bake 16-18 minutes or until cooked through and golden.
5. Place a sheet of parchment on a work surface, then place a cooling rack over top of parchment. Remove scones from pan to cooling rack. Cool about 10 minutes.
6. In the meantime, make glaze by whisking together powdered sugar, vanilla, and half and half until smooth. (If glaze is too thick, add a bit more cream. If it’s too thin, add more powdered sugar.)
7. Generously drizzle scones with the glaze. (Glaze will firm up when scones are completely cool.) Eat and enjoy!