Simple Scones

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, frozen
• 1/2 cup dried currants
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 large egg

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. In a medium mixing bowl, mix together flour, 1/3 cup sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Grate butter into flour mixture on the large holes of a box grater; use your fingers to work in butter (mixture should resemble coarse meal), then stir in currants.
3. In a small bowl, whisk sour cream and egg until smooth.
4. Using a fork, stir sour cream mixture into flour mixture until large dough clumps form. Use your hands to press the dough against the bowl into a ball. (The dough will be sticky in places, and there may not seem to be enough liquid at first, but as you press, the dough will come together.)
5. Place on a lightly floured surface and pat into a 7-to-8-inch circle about 3/4-inch thick. Sprinkle with remaining 1 tsp. of sugar. Use a sharp knife to cut into 8 triangles; place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, about 1 inch apart. Bake until golden, about 15 to 17 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes and serve warm or at room temperature

Variations

• Cranberry-Orange Scones- Follow the recipe for Simple Scones, adding a generous teaspoon of finely-grated orange zest to the dry ingredients and substituting dried cranberries for currants.
• Lemon-Blueberry Scones- Follow the recipe for Simple Scones, adding a generous teaspoon of finely grated lemon zest to the dry ingredients and substituting dried blueberries for the currants.
• Cherry-Almond Scones- Follow the recipe for Simple Scones, adding 1/2 tsp almond extract to the sour cream mixture and substituting dried cherries for the currants.