In the days and weeks leading up to Thanksgiving, everyone is posting recipes for their favorite go-to dinner dishes. But what about breakfast? On this day of feasting, breakfast is often overlooked, or skipped completely. And what a shame! Breakfast is the perfect opportunity to give a little extra pampering to your house guests (or yourself) by offering a tray of these delicious scones.
This recipe is actually the brain-child of my sister. She recently came to visit me, and we had a blast sight-seeing, giggling, and talking into the wee hours of the morning. I also thought it would be fun to take her through my process of recipe testing. And since developing a new scone recipe was on my to-do list, we decided to do it together.
We started with a basic scone recipe, and from there we added and subtracted until we came up with something completely different and delicious! She likes the combination of sour cream and brown sugar, so we incorporated them into the recipe, and I think she’s on to something here. These brown sugar and sour cream scones are like potato chips – you can’t have just one. And the best part – you probably have all the ingredients in your fridge already.
So indulge. Spoil your house guests. Spoil yourself. But be careful not to eat too many and spoil your dinner.
Oh, who am I kidding? Go ahead. Eat too many. I give you permission.
Start by adding all the dry ingredients, plus the brown sugar, into a large mixing bowl. Whisk them together so everything is evenly distributed.
With a pastry cutter, cut in the butter cubes until the mix resembles oatmeal or coarse crumbs.
Mix in the sour cream….
…and the whipping cream and vanilla. The mixture should start to come together so you can pinch it into a ball. If it doesn’t stick together, add more whipping cream one tablespoon at a time until it does.
Mmmm….sour cream and heavy cream. I wonder why these scones are so delicious?
On a lightly floured board, knead the dough about four or five times until it’s smooth. (My dough looks a little mottled here, because I used a coarse dark brown sugar. Your dough will probably look a little lighter and more even.) Roll out to about 3/4 to 1 inch thick. Then cut with a biscuit cutter. This one is about 2 1/4 inches in diameter – but you can use whatever you have and adjust the cooking time accordingly. (The smaller the scone, the shorter the cooking time.)
Place the scones on a parchment-lined baking sheet. (I ran out of parchment paper, and was too lazy to go to the store, so I lined this one with foil. Worked great!) Brush the tops with one tablespoon of heavy cream. Then mix the sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle it all over the tops.
Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes, or until the top is golden brown. Serve with jam and butter – or my favorite, clotted cream. I usually have to “test” their done-ness by eating one right away. Hey – it’s quality control, right? And quality-control calories don’t count, right? I didn’t think so…
Here’s the complete recipe. Enjoy!
Ingredients
Scones
2 Cups all-purpose flour
1/3 Cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 Teaspoon salt
1/2 Teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 Teaspoon nutmeg
4 Tablespoons cold butter, cut into small chunks
1/3 Cup sour cream
3/4 Cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Topping
1 Tablespoon heavy cream
1 Tablespoon sugar
1/4 Teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions
1) Combine flour, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
2) With a pastry cutter, cut in butter until the mixture resembles oatmeal or coarse crumbs.
3) Stir in sour cream, whipping cream, and vanilla until just combined. If batter is too dry, you can add more heavy cream a tablespoon at a time until the dough starts to come together.
4) On a lightly floured board, turn out dough and kneed four or five times until dough becomes smooth.
5) Roll dough to about ¾ inch, and cut with a 2-2 ½ inch biscuit cutter.
6) Evenly space scones on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Brush the tops with 1 tablespoon of cream. Mix the sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle evenly over each scone.
7) Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes until the tops are golden brown.
