Pear Spice Scones

By now you have probably heard that I like tea, and also that I enjoy Tea (see Chocolate Chip Cherry Scones). I created this scone when we received a recent visit from a friend. I had the holidays in mind, and we decided that these were Christmas Scones, with their combination of pear and spice. One batch of scones usually stands us well for a few days of snacking, Tea, breakfast, etc (since it is just the two of us).

·         2½ cups flour

·         ½ rounded tsp salt

·         ½ cup sugar

·         2¼ tsp baking powder

·         ¼ tsp coriander seed powder

·         ¼ tsp allspice

·         1/8 tsp ginger

·         ¼ tsp cinnamon

·         1/8 tsp cardamom

·         1/8 tsp cloves

·         6 Tbsp butter

·         1 pear (peeled, cored, & chopped)

·         2 Large eggs

·         ¾ cup half & half, heavy or whipping cream, or you can use whole milk (optional: add 1-2 Tbsp dried milk to the ingredients)

·         2 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 400°F (app. 205°C)~reduce temperate when the scones go into the oven to bake.

Line baking sheets or pie dishes with parchment.

Whisk together flour, salt, sugar, baking powder, & spices.

Cutter butter into this dry mixture.

Add chopped pear to this mixture .

In a separate bowl, whisk eggs, cream & vanilla. Reserving 2 Tbsp of the egg mixture, add the rest to the dry ingredients to form a moist dough. Mix only as much as needed to incorporate all the dry ingredients. ♥ If the dough seems dry, add additional cream by the Tbsp to the mixture, until it comes together.

Transfer dough onto floured work surface, pat into a circle app. The same size as a pie pan. Brush the remaining 2 Tbsp egg mixture and sprinkle with coarse sugar. Either use cutters (I use 2” biscuit cutter) or cut into wedges. ‡ Space evenly on cookie sheet or pie dish. Reduce temperature to 375°F (app. 190°C*) and bake app. 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Best enjoyed warm, but leftovers can be eaten cold or wrapped and rewarmed in the toaster oven. Store in an airtight container.

*I use an online conversion chart and round up or down, as seems appropriate. Please adjust according to your judgement, and send me a message if you find an error. Thank you.

‡ if using a smaller size cutter, shorten time; if cutting into wedges, increase time.


Showing on this day 2010: Sweet Potato Cinnamon Rolls