Cream Scones with Strawberry Jam

Today, we decided to experiment with eggs and breakfast sides. As a group, we wanted to make something unique out of common ingredients. After some thought, we thought of baking scones with a twist. We initially found a scone recipe out of the Joy of Cooking written by Irma S. Rombauer, Marion Rombauer Becker, and Ethan Becker, 2006. There were a couple of scone recipes that we could have chosen, but when thinking about our budget, we went off a recipe called Cream Scones. This recipe is an alteration of an existing recipe, where you substitute more heavy cream in place of eggs and butter. When thinking about how to serve these scones, there were two possibilities, either serving scones with jam or  cinnamon sugar. After some discussion, we decided that we would use jam on these scones because it seemed to be more fit for the theme of breakfast. And from there, we found some homemade strawberry jam that we could use.

With all this thought towards the preparation of these scones, we finally got to the part where we started to bake. Since we used an alteration of another recipe out of the Joy of Cooking, it was a little confusing to follow the directions. There was a big chunk of the directions that we had ignore, making it critical that we were paying close attention to what was happening. After mixing the dry ingredients together and the heavy cream, Amory had the idea that we make the scones almost like a layered cake. Having jam in the center, we would shape out two disks, creating layers. We were almost to the point where we could put it in the oven and wait, but as a group, we had to decide whether or not to put sugar or salt on top of the scones. Thinking that if we put sugar on top of the scones, it would make the scones something too sweet to have for breakfast, we decided to sprinkle salt on the scones. After fifteen minutes of waiting and hoping that  the scones would come out perfectly, we knew that we had done a good job.

Delicious Cream Scones

Cream Scones with Strawberry Jam
Yields 8 scones

1  3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/4 tsp. baking powder
1 tbs. sugar
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup jam

The scone's dough is primarily flour and cream

Preheat the oven to 450° F

1. Combine all dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Mix until all clumps are gone.
2. Pour in heavy cream and stir well until the mixture becomes a stiff dough. Try to avoid handling the dough as much as possible.
3. Lightly flour the counter or work surface and transfer the dough onto the surface.
4.  Divide the dough into two equal balls and shape into thick disks with a diameter of 6-8 inches.
5. Spread the jam on top of one of the disks and place the disk left over the jam covered disk. Move the jam filled dough into the middle of a non-greased pan.
6. Sprinkle either sugar or salt on top of the dough.
7. Bake for about 15 minutes until golden.
8. Let the scone cool for about 5 minutes.
9. Cut into 8 slices and serve.

As a group, we thought  the scones were a success.  The whole experience of baking and preparing the scones ran smoothly and there were no complications. The only thing that we could have done to make the scones better was to leave them a bit longer in the oven. Just a minute or two more could have helped. If you are making this recipe for a small group of people, it would be perfect; letting people even have seconds. But if you are making this for more than five people, you might want to make more than one, just so everyone can have a good amount. Overall, baking the scones are worth it because they come out deliciously.

Homemade Jam was layered into the crust

The finished scone. Delicious.