We had been meaning to go to Reynolds Tavern for tea for quite a while now, and we finally made it when Toby’s mom came to visit. Now we can’t believe we waited so long. It is super cute inside, the tea is awesome (there are a ton of different kinds, and everyone can get a different type in their own pot) and the food is great, too. I had a salad and an amazing scone, but they had some manly options available for the rugby players among us (Toby had a cheese steak wrap).

I liked my tea so much that Jane bought me some to take home, and I’ve been sipping Buckingham Palace Garden Party since. Then, as I was flipping through my grandmother’s cookbook, I saw this recipe for apricot scones. I thought it would be perfect with the tea.

I don’t know why I didn’t think to look in her cookbook for scones before — she used to bake them for us when we’d come to visit. And this recipe is very similar to the recipe I used in the spring. They were easy to make and turned out beautifully. Toby texted our neighbors to see if they wanted a few, and we had a knock on our door about five seconds later. That afternoon, they came back to tell us how much they enjoyed them.

The recipe makes eight normal-sized scones or 16 mini scones — how you cut them is up to you. And my grandmother has a recipe in her cookbook for cream to go with the scones (which I will include below), but I didn’t think it was necessary. We just slathered some strawberry preserves on top.

You could even cut yours evenly, instead of accidentally making half of them smaller. It’s a novel idea. But I didn’t hear anyone complaining.

Apricot scones (From my grandmother – makes 8 large or 16 mini scones)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup cold butter
1/2 cup chopped dried apricots
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 teaspoon grated orange rind (I didn’t have any of this and it was fine)
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons heavy cream

Cut the butter into small pieces and keep in fridge or freezer while preparing other ingredients. Preheat oven to 375.

Stir the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt together in a large bowl. Using a pastry blender or two forks, cut in butter until mixture resembles dry crumbs. Stir in the apricots, pecans and orange peel.

With a fork, quickly stir in 1 cup heavy cream until just moistened (if there is still a lot of dry flour left, add another tablespoon of cream). Gather dough together and turn onto a lightly floured surface. Knead 5 or 6 times.

For large scones, gently press dough into an 8×8 square cake pan. Turn the square of dough back out onto the lightly floured surface and cut into 8 triangles.

For mini scones, divide dough in half. Roll one half into a circle and cut into 8 wedges. Repeat with other half.

Regardless of size, place the scones one inch (or more) apart on an ungreased baking sheet. Brush tops lightly with remaining cream. Bake about 13 minutes for mini scones or about 20 minutes for large scones.

Cream for scones
3 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 tablespoon powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 to 1/3 cup heavy or whipping cream

In a small mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla until fluffy. Gradually beat in cream until mixture is a spreadable consistency. Cover and chill, then serve with scones.