Frozen apple & cheddar scones
Did I really say frozen scones? As much as I love eating the raw dough that lingers on a bowl or spoon, I do not intend you to eat these raw and frozen, like scone popsicles ;)
Here's the thing with scones - I find that they're normally dry, crumbly, and just not all that wow-worthy. But honestly, this is because they need to be eaten the day you bake them. So my trick of the trade is to whip up a double batch of Smitten Kitchen's apple & cheddar scones, pop them into the freezer when they're raw, then cook them up whenever the scone mood strikes. Which for you, by the way, should be right now.
These are the best scones I've ever eaten - in the past, I've swapped in maple syrup for some of the sugar, which was delicious, but the other day I wanted to make them as is. I made just a couple of the tiniest little tweaks - I'm going to use maple crunchies on top of the scones before I bake them instead of sugar, and I used maple salt for a little bit more maple flair. But have fun with this - have pears instead of apples? Give that a try. Have some other sort of cheese that you need to use up? Throw that in instead of cheddar. Or as I mentioned, swap out all the sugar in the dough for maple syrup. Oh, and invite me over when you have freshly baked scones coming out of the oven.
Apple & cheddar scones
Barely tweaked from Smitten Kitchen
Time: About 45 minutes to prep scones; overnight freezing; 30+ minutes to bake (30 from fresh, a few more mins from frozen)
Level: Medium
Ingredients - frozen scones
1 pound apples (roughly 2 good size apples)
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt (I used maple salt)
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small cubes
1/2 cup cheddar, shredded (I used white so they didn't come out a weird color, but I don't ever buy the yellow stuff anyway)
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 egg
Ingredients - when you're ready to bake the scones
1 egg
Pinch of salt (I used maple salt)
Maple crunchies, for sprinkling (if you don't have these, just use sugar - turbinado if you have it, to give some extra crunch)
Directions
Core and peel the apples, then cut them into chunks. Use one-sixteenths as a guide, but it might be more or less depending on the size of the apples. You want them roughly the same size so they bake evenly.
Bake the apples for about 20 minutes (if you're doubling the recipe like I did, it will take longer since there are more apple chunks). They'll be just a little bit browned and will feel dry when you touch them. Turn the oven off, unless you plan to bake some scones today.
Cool the apples completely (I put them in the fridge to speed this up; this took roughly 15 minutes with the help of the fridge).
Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, place butter, cooled apples, cheese, cream, and egg. Then sprinkle the flour mixture on top and mix on low speed just until the dough comes together. Try your best not to overmix!
Place the scone dough on a floured countertop and use your hands to shape the dough into roughly a 6-inch circle. The dough will be a little over an inch thick. Cut the circle into 6 triangular wedges. Transfer the scones onto a baking sheet that's been lined with a fresh sheet of parchment paper.
Leave the baking sheet in the freezer overnight. The next day, put the frozen scones into a resealable freezer bag and keep frozen until you want a freshly baked scone. There is no need to defrost the scone when you want to bake it, just stick it in the oven frozen.
Baking directions:
Preheat oven to 375.
Place frozen scones at least 2 inches apart on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Beat egg and a pinch of salt in a small bowl and brush the scones with the egg wash. Sprinkle the scones with maple crunchies (or sugar).
Bake until golden brown, roughly 32-34 minutes (if you're baking freshly made scones that haven't been frozen, bake for 30 minutes) - turn the pan about halfway through for even cooking.
Cool scones on the pan (or transfer to a wire rack) for 10 minutes before eating. Trust me, it will be hard to wait these 10 minutes, but they need to firm up. This is a good test of your patience :)
Mangia!