Vanilla Bean Scones

My daughter and son-in-law go to Starbuck’s at least once a day. Sometimes twice! When they lived with me, they would always ask me if I wanted anything, and usually I said no (that’s the frugal side of me!) but every once in a while I would ask them to bring me home a vanilla bean scone. I’ve pretty much never met a scone I didn’t like. Sweet, savory - it doesn’t matter.  

But even with the occasional splurge on picking one up at the coffee shop, I knew I could make them at home, and not only are these delicious, but also significantly less calories than the original. #winning 

There are a couple of tricks to know about scones. I find that after shaping the dough into a round and freezing it for at least 30 minutes before slicing and going in the oven, I have much better knife cuts for the scones. 

I also shred my butter into the dough. I think it disburses better that way, and then when you go from freezer to oven, you get the flakiest scone. It's not dry at all!

Vanilla Bean Scones

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2 cups flour

1/2 cup sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

4 tablespoons butter (shredded with a box cheese grater)

1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

For the glaze:

3/4 cup powdered sugar

2 tablespoons unsweetened almond milk

1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste*

1. Heat oven to 425 degrees.

2. In a food processor, pulse the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Drop in the shredded butter, and pulse, just until the butter is incorporated - it will look like tiny butter peas.

3. Mix the unsweetened almond milk and egg together. Add that to the flour mixture and PULSE just until combined. Yes, I am shouting that you need to slowly pulse this dough because it is really soft and you don't want to let it run because it will whip the butter, and you'll end up having to add more flour to roll it out.

4. Divide the dough on your counter into two circles - about 6 inches across. Refrigerate on separate plates for 15 minutes. Cut each circle into 8 pieces - I bake these in two batches because they do puff up - so keep the second disc refrigerated while the first batch cooks.

5. While the scones bake, mix the powdered sugar, almond milk and vanilla bean paste together. Once the scones are cooled, dip the tops of the scone into the glaze, letting it drip back into the bowl - and put on a wire rack. The glaze will harden in about 15 minutes.

6. Bake 9 minutes for a soft scone - or 11 minutes of you want a bit more crunch. Either way, they are both delicious.

You can find vanilla bean paste at The Chopping Block in Lincoln Square, and we are now offering curbside pickup. To see all of the retail options available, visit the SHOP tab in the top navigation menu. We have over 100 products online to choose from, including everything you need for holiday baking!

If you want to learn more baking techniques, check out these in-person, socially distant classes we have coming up at Lincoln Square:

• Donut Boot Camp Saturday, December 5 10am
• Pie and Tart Boot Camp Sunday, December 6 10am
• Gifts from the Kitchen: Quick Breads and Seasonal Spreads Saturday, December 12 10am
• Cupcake Boot Camp Sunday, December 13 10am
• Holiday Cookie Boot Camp Saturday, December 19 9am
• Holiday Cookie Boot Camp Sunday, December 20 10am

And don’t forget to order your Thanksgiving pies which will be available for pickup from Lincoln Square on the Tuesday and Wednesday of the holiday week. We're also introducing our Pie of the Month in November and December. November's selection is Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie and December's selection is Eggnog Cranberry Chiffon Pie. Choose which Saturday you'd like to pick up from Lincoln Square and order on that day. All of your pie ordering can be done here!

Yield: 16 scones

Author: Biz Velanti

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Vanilla Bean Scones

Prep time: 30 MinCook time: 10 Mininactive time: 15 MinTotal time: 55 Min

Ingredients

For the scones

• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 4 tablespoons butter (shredded with a box cheese grater)
• 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

For the glaze

• 3/4 cup powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened almond milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste

Instructions

1. Heat oven to 425 degrees.
2. In a food processor, pulse the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Drop in the shredded butter, and pulse, just until the butter is incorporated - it will look like tiny butter peas.
3. Mix the unsweetened almond milk and egg together. Add that to the flour mixture and PULSE just until combined. Yes, I am shouting that you need to slowly pulse this dough because it is really soft and you don't want to let it run because it will whip the butter, and you'll end up having to add more flour to roll it out.
4. Divide the dough on your counter into two circles - about 6 inches across. Refrigerate on separate plates for 15 minutes. Cut each circle into 8 pieces - I bake these in two batches because they do puff up - so keep the second disc refrigerated while the first batch cooks.
5. While the scones bake, mix the powdered sugar, almond milk and vanilla bean paste together. Once the scones are cooled, dip the tops of the scone into the glaze, letting it drip back into the bowl - and put on a wire rack. The glaze will harden in about 15 minutes.
6. Bake 9 minutes for a soft scone - or 11 minutes of you want a bit more crunch. Either way, they are both delicious.

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