Between reading “Brideshead Revisited” (which is lovely, by the way) and watching (kinda) the royal wedding… I have been craving scones for quite a while. But most store- and coffee-shop-bought scones are better for hammering nails or throwing at people you don’t like than for eating, so I wanted to make my own.

I am very glad I did. This recipe is fantastic (you can’t go wrong with Smitten Kitchen). They are pretty simple and quick, and the consistency is similar to an (American) biscuit. The only thing that took any time was chopping up the craisins with a knife. So don’t do that. Just use currants, or chop your craisins in a food processor or chopper thingy.

This is the first time I’ve used my pastry blender. I don’t know why I didn’t get one earlier. You should definitely get one if you make a lot of biscuits and/or pie crusts. But if you don’t have one, you can use your fingers, two forks or a food processor.

When you first pour the cream in and stir it around, you might think there isn’t enough liquid. Don’t worry. Once you dump it out and form it into a ball, it will be fine.

As a side note: The light in my kitchen was a little dodgy when I was taking these photos… so, sorry if the color is weird.

You can use a biscuit cutter and cut round scones, but I would recommend doing it this way — just press the dough into an 8-inch square cake/brownie pan, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and cut it into triangles.

Serve with strawberry preserves (I got this British brand in the “foreign” section of the grocery store), whipped cream and tea. You don’t even need to sweeten the cream. Or, if you really want to be authentic (and you have a lot of time on your hands), make your own clotted cream. Cheers!

Scones (Recipe from America’s Test Kitchen Cookbook, via Smitten Kitchen) Makes 8 scones

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (preferably a low-protein brand such as Gold Medal or Pillsbury)
1 tablespoon baking powder
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons cold unsalted butter
1/2 cup currants (I used dried cranberries, chopped into smaller pieces)
1 cup heavy cream

Cut butter into 1/4-inch cubes, then put the cubes back in the refrigerator.

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 425.

Place flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in large bowl or work bowl of food processor fitted with steel blade. Whisk together or pulse six times.

If making by hand, use two knives, a pastry blender or your fingertips and quickly cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse meal, with a few slightly larger butter lumps. Stir in currants/cranberries. (If using food processor, remove cover and distribute butter evenly over dry ingredients. Cover and pulse 12 times. Add currants/cranberries and pulse one more time. Transfer dough to large bowl.)

Pour in heavy cream and stir with a rubber spatula or fork until dough starts to form, about 30 seconds.

Dump the dough and all the little floury pieces onto a clean work surface. Knead the dough by hand for a few seconds, just until it comes together in a rough, sticky ball.

Press the dough into an 8-inch cake pan, then turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Cut the dough into 8 wedges with a knife or bench scraper.

Place wedges on ungreased baking sheet and bake until scone tops are light brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Cool on wire rack for at least 10 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.