Recipe Challenge

[moonpupy.livejournal.com]

I borrowed Rosie from Kassandra in her story "Busted", without permission, and have emailed her for permission to use her, but I haven't heard back, and it's been weeks. I can only hope she won't kill me. 891 words including recipe.

Scones
by MoonPuppy

"Ray?" Fraser queried when he opened the cabin door to find the kitchen area awash in . . . flour?

In the center of the . . . storm . . . stood Ray, holding the normal receptacle for the flour - its canister. "Do not say a word, Fraser. Not a word."

"But . . ." Fraser began before silencing in the face of Ray's upraised index finger.

"Not. A. Word." Ray's focus was on the sea of flour around him, but his hand, with upraised index finger, danced jerkily in front of him. "You will go back out that door and . . . chop some wood, or feed the dogs, or . . . just . . . sit on the porch. You will not come back in here for at least," he glanced over his shoulder at the timer sitting next to the sink, "fifteen minutes. Twenty, if you value my sanity."

Fraser took in the timer, the heated stove, the nest of bowls and measuring cups and spoons, and said, "Understood," and backed out the front door.

-- Twenty minutes later --

Bracing himself, Fraser again opened the cabin door and entered to find . . . nothing. Well, not nothing, precisely, but all signs of the previous flour storm were gone. Well, not gone. He could detect the slightest hint of white in the seam between the stove and the countertop, but he refrained from focusing on it. Instead, he focused on the plate of still-hot scones sitting on a plate, next to a pot of hot tea, on the kitchen table. Ray was nowhere to be seen.

"Ray?" He queried once again, this time as he removed his outer coat and hat and hung them up.

"Be right out, Frase," came the reply from the bedroom they shared. "Help yourself to a scone and some tea."

Still not at all certain he'd entered the correct cabin Fraser leaned over the scones as he poured himself a cup of tea and inhaled, detecting a faint hint of . . . "Cinnamon?"

"Yeah," Ray agreed, exiting the bedroom while pulling a clean Henley over his head and down his chest. "I got the recipe from Rosie. She's the one who suggested adding the cinnamon chips. You like?"

Fraser, more than half distracted by Ray's tale, realized that he'd taken a bite of one of the scones. Swallowing quickly he said, "They're wonderful. Where did you learn to bake?"

Ray smiled at the amazement in his friend's voice. "Rosie, again. You think she'd turn me loose with one o' her recipes without some training?" He reached past Fraser, picked up a scone of his own, and took a bite out of it. After swallowing he said, "Umm, that's good." He nodded, more to himself than Fraser. "I did good."

Fraser took that opportunity to lean in and kiss leftover sugar crystals off Ray's lips. "You did more than good, Ray. You are amazing."
--

Cinnamon Scones

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/4 tsps double-acting baking powder
2 Tbs sugar
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup cinnamon chips
1/4 cup cold butter
2 eggs
1/3 cup cream

Sift all the dry ingredients together. Grate the butter into the flour mixture and mix until it resembles an oatmeal-like texture. Add the cinnamon chips and mix to coat with flour.

Beat the eggs together and reserve about 2 Tbs to use later. Add the cream to the eggs and mix together.

Make a well in the dry ingredients. Pour the liquid into it. Combine with a few swift strokes. Handle the dough as little as possible.

(OPTIONAL MOVE: At this point, I like to press the dough together on a piece of wax paper, fold the paper tight around it and place it in the fridge to rest for 30 minutes. This is not required, but the dough comes together much better if it's allowed to hydrate in this manner.)

Press the dough out onto a lightly oiled (spray oil is your friend) pan until it is about 3/4 of an inch thick. Cut with a knife into any shape you like (I like to aim for a circle and cut wedges). Be sure to separate the pieces or they will not be cooked in the center soon enough before the rest of the dough browns.

Brush with the reserved egg and sprinkle with sugar.

Bake about 25 minutes in a 350F oven or 15 minutes in 450F oven.

Original recipe taken from 1975 edition of Joy of Cooking (yes, the edition does matter), and modified to suit our tastes.

(BUTTER NOTE: Yes, I use a small hand grater to grate the butter into the flour. It works amazingly well, as I've never had much luck with small cubes and forks or knives or pastry knives.)

(CINNAMON CHIPS NOTE: Until this past summer, the only place I could find cinnamon chips was at the King Arthur flour website, but I never ordered them. Then, cruising through the grocery store, I spotted a bag of Nestle Cinnamon Chips. The scone experimentation started that day.)