SCONE RECIPES.

Taranaki Daily News, 19 May 1928, Page 18

SCONE RECIPES.

Nothing is more delicious for afternoon tea than hot scones. A plateful will vanish much quicker than a similar quantity of cakes, even those of the sweetest and most expensive kind, for the plain, wholesome goodness of scones, seived piping hot, with plenty of butter, appeals to every palate. Scones require a brisk oven, and put in to cook immediately after mixing. To make plain scones, sift a pound of flour with a heaped teaspoonful of cream of tartar, a teaspoonful of carbonate of soda, and a half-teaspooniu! »f salt. Rub in one and a half ounces of butter, and tho same quantity of lard, and mix to a light dough with milk. Sour milk may be used. Roll out quickly, and eut into small, thick cakes, brush over with milk, and put into a quick even to bake for 15 minutes. Serve very hot and well buttered. Gem scones are increasing in populfarity as an afternoon tea food. Being made with eggs they are richer than tndinary scones, and slightly more expensive. They require a special gem tray for baking. The ingredients for gem scones are two cups of flour, one cup of milk, one egg, two dessert spoons of butter, and two dessert spoons of sugar, a pinch of salt. Sift together the flour and salt, rub the butter in lightly, and then add the sugar; beat the egg and add the milk to it, then add egg and milk to the flour mixture; beat all together until smooth; place in the greased gem trays, which must be heated beforehand. Gem scones should be cooked in a hot oven for ten minutes.

For currant scones the following ingredients are required: Half a pound of flour, three ounces of good dripping or lard, one teaspoonful of baking powder, two ounces of sugar, two ounces of currants, one egg, and one cup of milk. Method: Sift together the flour and baking powder, rub in the lard, add the sugar and currants, and mix to a dough with the beaten egg and milk; bake for 15 minutes in a quick oven. Servo hot and spread with plenty of butter.

Another variety of scone which can be cooked in gem trays is the drop scone. For these scones take one well-beaten egg and mix well with two ounces of sugar; add half a cup of milk, sift one cup of flour, one teaspoonful of cream of tartar, and half a teaspoonful of carbonate of soda into a mixing basin, add the beaten egg and milk gradually to the flour, put a teaspoonful of the mixture into each heated and greased compartment of the gem tray; cook in a hot oven for ten minutes. Wholemeal flour makes delicious an«l ! appetising scones, and fine oatmeal is j equally n utritious. To make these scones take a pound of plain flouremfw cmg take a pound each of fine oatmeal, or wholemeal, and a pound of plain flour. Sift together with three dessert spoons cf baking powder, and two teaspoonfuls of salt; rub in four ounces of butter and two ounces of good dripping, and mix to a dough with two beaten eggs and three gills of milk; roll out, and cut in thick triangular pieces; brush over with milk, and bake In a medium oven for twenty minutes. Serve very hot, split and buttered. Cold cooked potatoes can be utilised to make tasty scones. The potatoes should be rubbed through a sieve, and should equal in quantity the pond of self-raising flour with which they are mixed; when thoroughly mixed, add two ounces of sugar and a pinch of salt; stir in four ounces of warmed butter, and moisten to a dough with milk; knead lightly, roll out to half an inch in thickness, cut into squares, and bake in a quick oven for 15 minutes. Serve hot and spread with butter.