It is September 2nd , and the very hot weather here in the valley has cooled down a bit, so before the cold weather starts to set in, with the Santa Ana winds, and the rain and all, I am making an afternoon tea party, with Simple & Sweet Scones.
I redecorated the backyard this summer, which has been neglected since the last time I posted about it several years ago, and while me and my daughters are stuck at home, like many of you are, I wanted to do something special for them.
This was done in like 2 hours. I made some finger sandwiches, and got some cupcakes, and croissants. I have my whimsical MacKenzie-Childs Tea Kettle, which I adore, as well as some other items, but one thing was missing, that is a standard for afternoon high tea. That is Scones!
I decided to make Simple & Sweet Scones, but I didn’t have enough heavy whipping cream for the recipe, so I mixed what little I had in the fridge with some sweetened condensed milk that I had on hand. I added in less sugar and before you know it, I had scones that were baked to perfection! My family couldn’t stop eating them right out of the oven! That’s why I couldn’t snap a picture of all 8 slices.
This recipe for Simple & Sweet Scones, was so easy to come together, and now I know I have a base recipe that I can add to as needed. For instance, adding pumpkin for autumn scones, or cranberries for winter scones, or lemon for summer scones. The possibilities are endless!
This afternoon tea was so relaxing and fun. My girls mentioned that they felt like they were in Disneyland because of the whimsical atmosphere and the music of Alice in Wonderland’s Very Merry Unbirthday playing in the background. And that made my heart sing because Disneyland has been shut down now for like 5 months and we miss Disneyland so much.
I must admit that I am a High Tea kinda girl. I can’t get enough of it. This past Christmas holiday, I made sure to visit The Blue Box Cafe, and The Plaza in NYC for High Tea! I am a regular fan of the blog Oh How Civilized, and I always check out her posts on Afternoon Tea. I often think that maybe I am not of this time, because my heart beats in the times of Victorian charm and splendor. I love looking at Victorian homes, and wondering what it was like living in that era as a lady of the manor, with afternoon tea, the latest gossip, fine China, French poodles, and Fascinators. But I digress.
This recipe bakes for only 16 minutes, and it is soft and light on the inside. The key is not to knead the dough too much before baking, and make sure that the butter is VERY cold. Placing the butter in the freezer for a few minutes before adding it to the processor will help immensely.
When you are kneading the dough, this would be the best time to add in extras, like blueberries, chocolate chips or cranberries maybe? That would be perfect for a Christmas Afternoon Tea!
So be sure to have your pinkies up when sipping your afternoon tea, and dip some of these Simple & Sweet Scones to your delight!
If you do add in extras to this recipe, please let me know in the comments how they turned out!
Ingredients
- 2 cups of all purpose flour
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup very cold unsalted butter cut into cubes
- 1/4cup heavy cream
- 1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Additional heavy cream for brushing over scones
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- In the bowl of a food processor, add flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and pulse a few times to combine.
- Then add in cubbed unsalted butter, and pulse to combine butter.
- Add in sweetened condensed milk, heavy cream and vanilla extract.
- Pulse to combine until it has formed a dough, and it has gathered to one side of processor.
- Dump out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead a bit with your hands and shape into a thick disk.
- Around an inch thick and about 7 inches across.
- Slice into 8 pieces.
- Place on a sheet pan , that has been covered with parchment paper, and brush tops with a bit of heavy cream. Bake in oven for 14-16 minutes, until edges have browned a bit.
- Remove sheet pan from oven, and let cool before serving.
- Serve with a side of butter.
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