- Hey, guys, so fall is in the air,
and one of my favorite things to do this time of year
is invite friends over for tea and scones.
So for this episode,
I'm gonna show you one basic scone recipe
that you can use to make slight modifications
to get three different flavors of scones.
Then I'm gonna show you some of my favorite tea blends
that I like to pair with them.
So for this episode I have partnered with Twinings Tea,
who is generously offering a 25% discount on all their teas.
All you have to do to get the discount
is visit their website, twiningsusa.com,
and be sure to use the coupon code Beth25 at checkout.
And all this information is also in the description below.
So let's get to our tea and scone pairings.
We're gonna kick things off with a classic raisin scone.
I love this recipe because it's so easy to put together
and there's something so wonderful and comforting
about a raisin scone.
So the first thing we're gonna do is in a large bowl,
we're going to combine two cups of flour,
two tablespoons of white sugar,
a teaspoon and 1/2 of salt,
and one tablespoon plus one teaspoon of baking powder.
I know that sounds like a strange combination,
but I'm telling you,
that extra teaspoon does make a difference, so don't skimp.
We're gonna whisk that up,
and then we're gonna set it aside.
Then we're gonna take 10 tablespoons
of very cold unsalted butter.
You wanna cut that into small little cubes,
because we are going to work this butter into the flour,
and it really helps if the butter cubes are small.
Then you're gonna add it to the bowl,
and start to work in the butter with your fingers,
just working in the flour and the butter,
and making sure that it's all incorporated.
You're looking for the mixture to resemble a coarse meal.
(cheerful music)
Then, in a small Pyrex pitcher,
you're going to measure out 1/2 a cup of heavy cream.
To that you're going to add one tablespoon
of vanilla extract and two eggs.
Give that a nice whisk with a fork.
And then you're gonna go back to your flour mixture,
and you're gonna create a nice little well in the center,
and you're gonna pour your heavy cream into that well.
Then you're gonna take a fork,
and you're gonna slowly combine the cream mixture
with the flour mixture, just making sure that
that dough is becoming well incorporated.
Once it looks like you have a dough on your hands,
you can change out and use a wooden spoon,
and give it another mix just until it's nice and combined.
Now here's the thing, you don't wanna overmix,
or you will end up with a tough scone,
so it is important to find that delicate balance
between mixing and not overmixing.
Just until it's combined is fine.
Then you're gonna remove your dough from the bowl,
turn it out on a floured surface, roll it into a ball,
flatten it down into a disc,
then you're gonna wrap your dough in some plastic wrap
and pop it in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Now, if you are pressed for time,
you could also pop it in the freezer for 10 minutes.
Either way, you just wanna make sure
that your dough is well refrigerated
before you begin to work with it.
It'll just make it a lot easier to roll it out
and cut your scones.
Then when your dough is ready,
you're gonna roll it out on a floured surface
to about a 1/2 inch thickness.
Then you're gonna cut out your scones
with a two inch cookie cutter,
and place them on a parchment-lined cookie sheet.
And just go ahead and repeat that process
until you have about 12 scones.
Then, in a small bowl, you're gonna crack in one egg,
whisk it up, then take a pastry brush
and lightly brush each of the scones with the egg.
Now, at this point,
because we have spent some time rolling out our dough
and cutting our scones,
the dough has come up a little bit to room temperature,
so we really wanna take these scones
that are all ready to go and pop them back in our fridge,
just for about 15 minutes.
I know, you've come this far, and you're like,
"Ugh, can't I just pop it in the oven?"
Now, you could, but what's gonna happen is
if that dough is not very well chilled,
those scones are gonna start to become kinda lopsided
and they won't retain its shape.
So you're really better off, 'cause you've come this far,
to put them back in the refrigerator,
just for 15 minutes, and you'll see,
it'll help those scones retain their shape.
You can take your scones, pop them in a 400 degree oven,
and bake for anywhere from 10 to 12 minutes.
You'll know that they're done when they have risen up
and turn a beautiful golden brown.
And when your scones are done,
you can take them out of the oven,
pile them high on a decorative platter, and you will see,
you will have one delicious little treat on your hands.
Then the tea that I like to serve best
with these is a Chai Spiced Apple.
It's such an exotic flavored tea,
coming from all of that cardamom and cloves and ginger.
It's so unexpected, and so warming too.
That little hint of apple
also really complements the raisins well.
So many great fall flavors.
Next up, I'm gonna show you how
to alter this recipe slightly
to create some wonderful cranberry orange scones.
Cranberry and orange is such a great, classic fall flavor
that I love to make this time of year.
So all we're gonna do is create the same exact recipe,
and then once we get to our coarse meal,
instead of adding the raisins,
we're going to add 1/2 a cup of dried cranberries
and a teaspoon and 1/2 of grated orange zest.
Then, when it comes time to actually roll out our scones,
we're gonna do a slightly different shape for these.
We're gonna make some classic scone triangles.
This is another way to go when you're making scones.
So it's really up to you what shape you like best,
but this recipe really works either way.
So we're gonna roll out our dough,
and we're going to create a square
that is about 1/2 inch thick.
Now, I find it really helps to have a large chef's knife
at the ready, because that is going
to help us sort of form our square
and make sure that we get some tight corners.
And once you get to that point,
you're gonna cut your dough vertically, then horizontally,
basically creating a big cross.
Then you're gonna pull apart that cross
and you'll see you'll have little squares.
And you're gonna take those squares
and cut them down the diagonal,
and then you'll have two triangles.
The other thing you can do is also go in
with your chef knife again,
and just kind of form the triangles,
so they're nice and tight.
And the reason you wanna do this is,
you wanna make sure that that triangle retains its shape
as it bakes, and just helping the dough
along a little bit will help with that.
Then we're gonna transfer our triangles
to a parchment-lined cookie sheet,
and then for this, instead of the eggs,
we're just gonna wash these with a little heavy cream,
and top with a little turbinado sugar.
This is just a raw cane sugar that adds a nice little crunch
to the top of the scones.
Then we can go ahead and pop them in the refrigerator
for another 15 minutes, just to firm up.
And then we're gonna bake again at 400 degrees
for anywhere from 10 to 12 minutes,
just until they're puffed up and golden brown.
And there you go, you'll have cranberry orange scones.
Then the tea that I like to serve best
with these scones is an Orange and Cinnamon Spice Tea.
I love this flavor combination
with the cranberry orange scone,
because I find that it really does celebrate
all the flavors of fall.
I also like to add a little bit of honey to the tea,
because I love that level of sweetness
that sort of smooths out the tartness of the orange.
It's a great flavor combination in my book.
Next up, and finally, I'm gonna show you how
to make some chocolate scones.
Now, this is great to have in the mix
for anybody who has a little bit of a sweet tooth.
These are quite delicious.
So we're gonna do the same exact thing that we did before,
same basic scone recipe,
but then when we get to the coarse meal,
we are going to add three ounces
of chopped bittersweet chocolate.
Now, you could use milk chocolate
if you like a little bit more sweetness in your chocolate.
I tend to like the bittersweet,
because I find that it's not too overly sweet,
but really the choice is yours.
Give it a toss,
and then you're gonna add that cream mixture,
turn it into a dough,
and by this time you guys know the drill.
You're gonna turn it into a ball, flatten,
and wrap in plastic.
You're gonna refrigerate again for another 30 minutes,
and then when it's time to roll out these scones,
the choice is yours, whatever shape you wanna create.
I like to do the little circular scones,
so I will go back to my biscuit cutter.
Put them on some parchment paper,
and then for these I will go back to the egg wash
and give them a brush.
Pop in the oven for another 10 to 12 minutes.
And then you'll see,
you'll have some beautiful chocolate scones on your hand.
And then the tea that I like to serve best
with these scones is a Pure Peppermint Tea.
I love the combination of peppermint and chocolate.
It's such a classic combination.
And you'll find it also has a really refreshing quality,
which will balance out the richness of a chocolate scone.
Another winning combination in my book.
So there you have it, our scone and tea pairing.
Now, if you wanted to host this little tea party,
here's what I would recommend,
because it is a lot of baking and mixing.
I would actually do all the scone dough ahead of time.
You can do it all the day before,
keep it wrapped in plastic,
and cut the scones the day of the party.
Or, if you have room in your fridge, I have also done it
where I've actually cut them all out, egg washed them,
put three trays in my fridge, and then all I have to do
the day of the party is pop them in the oven.
And a few other tips when it comes to serving tea
for a party like this.
One of the things that I like to do
is just put two big teapots on the table with hot water
and then place all of the different tea selections
on a little cake stand.
That way, everybody can kind of try the different teas,
and you haven't steeped the tea in a teapot
that people may or may not wanna try.
So that way it allows everybody the opportunity
to try some of the tea and try the scones
and see which ones they like best.
And then another thing I like to do is place each flavor
of scone on its own designated platter.
That way, they won't get mixed up,
and people will know which one is which,
so it'll help everybody try a little bit of everything.
I also like to put them on elevated cake stands,
because not only does it look a little bit fancy,
but it does tend to use up less space on the table.
So tea parties, you end up having a lot of things
on the table between everybody's cups
and saucers and plates,
and having an elevated cake stand allows
to use a lot more surface of the table
than if you had something actually resting on the table.
So there you have it, a simple and easy tea and scone party.
I hope you guys give this one a try
and let me know what you think,
and I also hope you take advantage of the Twinings discount.
With over 50 teas to choose from,
I bet you'll find some teas that you like best,
and I wanna hear what kind of combos you guys come up with.
So leave me a comment and let me know,
and I will see you back here next week
for another delicious recipe.
Until then, bye.
(fun music)
♫ You're A-OK
♫ You're sweet honey
♫ You're fine, so fine
♫ You're mine, you're all mine
♫ Tick tock, tick tock
♫ It's so hot, so hot, hot, hot
♫ I don't watch, don't watch, don't watch the clock
♫ You're running out of time
♫ You're fine, so fine
♫ You're mine, you're all mine ♫