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This week I had need of something I could make ahead to enjoy with either coffee or tea. What better than scones? I believe the Vanilla Peach Jam post successfully explained my feelings on Vanilla beans. They are magical and fun, exotic and homey all wrapped up in one little pod. Since I had a few on hand, I thought I would try my hand at Vanilla Scones. This recipe is from The Pioneer Woman. The only thing I changed was that I made it in my food processor. I detest pastry cutters. I believe they are the bane of…well….pastry making I suppose, but more specifically scones. The food processor worked perfectly. As usual, my own notes are in italics.

I was slightly fearful these would be overly sweet but they are not at all. They are just sweet enough and have a wonderfully light texture.

Petite Vanilla Bean Scones

Ingredients

  • SCONES
  • 3 cups All-purpose Flour
  • 2/3 cups Sugar
  • 5 teaspoons Baking Powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon Salt
  • 2 sticks (1/2 Pound) UNSALTED Butter, Chilled
  • 1 whole Large Egg
  • 3/4 cups Heavy Cream (more If Needed)
  • 2 whole Vanilla Beans
  • GLAZE
  • 3 cups Powdered Sugar, Sifted
  • 1/2 cup Whole Milk
  • 1 whole Vanilla Bean
  • Dash Of Salt

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Split the vanilla beans down the middle lengthwise and scrape out all the vanilla “caviar” inside. Stir caviar into cream. Set aside for 15 minutes.

Don’t throw away those empty vanilla pods! Put them in an airtight container with granulated sugar. The vanilla infused sugar is great for extra flavor in baking or creme brulee! I used some vanilla sugar I already had on hand for the sugar in this recipe.

Sift together flour, 2/3 cup sugar, baking powder, and salt.
Cut cold butter into pats, then use a pastry cutter or two knives to cut the butter into the flour (or pulse in a food processor) Keep going until mixture resembles crumbs.

Mix vanilla cream with egg, then combine with flour mixture; stir gently with a fork just until it comes together. Or pulse in the food processor until it just comes together. Be careful not to over mix or your scones will be too dense. 

Turn dough onto a floured surface and lightly press it together until it forms a rough rectangle. (Mixture will be pretty crumbly.) Use a rolling pin to roll into a rectangle about 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch thick. Use your hands to help with the forming if necessary.

Use a knife to trim into a symmetrical rectangle, then cut the rectangle into 12 symmetrical squares/rectangles. Next, cut each square/rectangle in half diagonally, to form two triangles.

Transfer to a parchment or baking mat-lined cookie sheet and bake for 18 minutes (I did modify the baking time since I live at high altitude. I baked mine for about 15 minutes.), removing from the oven just before they start to turn golden. Allow to cool for 15 minutes on the cookie sheet, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

VANILLA GLAZE

To make the icing, split one vanilla bean in half lengthwise and scrape out the caviar. Stir caviar into milk; allow to sit for awhile. Mix powdered sugar with the vanilla milk, adding more powdered sugar or milk if necessary to get the consistency the right thickness. Stir or whisk until completely smooth.

One at a time, carefully dunk each cooled scone in the glaze, turning it over if necessary. Transfer to parchment paper or the cooling rack. Allow the glaze to set completely, about an hour. Scones will keep several days if glazed.

 These scones are delicious on their own….
and heavenly with a dollop of Rose Petal Jam!