Scone Mixture for

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume 76, Issue 6, 15 June 1948, Page 602

Scone Mixture for

NEW ZEALAND housewives are noted for their good scones and certainly country women have plenty of practice, for scones are usually baked every day. Perhaps -it is not generally realised that the same quickly-made mixture can be the foundation of many other dishes. Some variations on the scone theme which will produce puddings, savouries, and buns are described in this article by Eva Topping, Rural Sociologist, Auckland.

TO print a scone recipe for New Zealand readers seems superfluous, as almost everyone has her own special way of making good scones. The recipe which follows is included because it is referred to as the “standard recipe” to which additions and alterations are made for a variety of dishes. , ♦ .

Standard Scone Recipe and Method Boz. of flour (2 cups) 2 flat tablespoons of butter 2 rounded or 4 flat tea- or other fat S' spoons of baking powder Salt About 1 cup of milk Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt into a mixing bowl and rub in the fat. Mix them with milk to a soft dough, turn it on to a floured board, shape it into a smooth lump, and pat it with the hands or roll it lightly to the desired thickness. Cut it into shapes, place them on a floured or -greased oven tray, and bake them in a hot oven (425 to 450 degrees F.) for 10 to 15 minutes. For plain scones omit the fat.

Varieties of Scone

Many variations of the standard scone mixture are frequently used and need not be listed, but here are one or two less common kinds of scone: —

Savoury-filled Scones These scones are good for picnics or lunch boxes. Make the usual mixture or that given in the standard recipe, roll or pat it to Jin. thickness, and cut it into small rounds. Spread half of them with melted butter or. soft bacon dripping and then with a finely-minced cooked-meat mixture. Cover them with the rest of the rounds and brush sides and tops with milk or beaten egg. Place them on a prepared oven tray and bake them in a hot oven (450 degrees) for 10 to 12 minutes. For the meat fillings, use minced cooked beef or mutton seasoned well and moistened with rich gravy. Ham or

lightly-cooked bacon, finely chopped and seasoned with ; salt, pepper, and mustard, is very good. • ? Jam Scones • ' : Roll the mixture fin. thick and cut it into rounds and ? rings. Spread the rounds with a little butter and then ? with jam. Place the, rings on top and bake them. s Orange Scones Add 1 tablespoon of sugar and an extra tablespoon of ? fat to the standard recipe. Grate the rind from 1 orange, c s mix it with 2 tablespoons of sugar, and make it just moist with orange juice. , Roll the scone dough to l/3in. s thick and cut it into rounds. Make a depression in the s centre of each round by inserting a floured finger and fill the hollow with the orange sugar. Split, buttered, and served hot with milky coffee, orange j scones are delicious for morning tea. - I Rusks . ’ J Add 1 tablespoon of fat and 1 egg to the standard recipe. Beat the egg well and use it in place of part of the milk. I Roll the dough fin. thick and cut it into oblongs or rounds. J Bake them as usual, take them from the oven, and split. | them with two forks. Bake the split scones again in a" 1 rather slower oven 1 until they are crisp and golden brown. « Rolls and Buns , I By adding extra fat, sugar, eggs, spices, flavourings, and J fruit to the standard recipe, the plain types of buns, tea- i cakes, puddings, and savoury dishes are made. I Folded Rolls - • '|j Use the standard mixture and add 1 egg, using less milk I or a little more flour. > Mix the dough, turn it on to a 1 floured board, pat it to l/3in. thick, and cut it into large. rounds.. Crease each across the centre with the back of. a knife, spread one side with softened butter, and fold the ? other side over. Put them on to a cold greased or floured | oven sheet and leave them to stand for about 15 minutes. | Brush them with milk or melted butter just before putting P them into a hot oven (425 degrees) for 15 to 20 minutes. ; I ' ■ : 1 '.' ' '" - .■/ - - -l! Shamrock Rolls , | Use the standard recipe without alteration. Grease a J set of bun tins. Roll the scone mixture into small balls | and put three into each bun tin. Stand them aside for | 15 minutes, then brush them with milk or melted butter | before baking them. 1

Photographs reproduced on this and opposite pages by Sparrow Industrial Pictures Ltd, -

Cinnamon Buns

Use - twice the ingredients in the folded roll recipe and add 2 tablespoons of sugar. Roll the dough very thinly, spread it with softened butter, sprinkle it with brown sugar, cinnamon, and raisins or sultanas, and form it into a long roll. Cream 6 flat tablespoons of butter, lard, or mild dripping with 6 tablespoons of brown sugar and .spread the ■ mixture thickly on ; the sides and bottom of a round tin —a heavy frying pan is most suitable if the handle will fit inside the oven. Cut the roll into slices ljin. thick , and arrange them close together with the cut sides uppermost in the tin. Stand them aside for about 15 minutes, then bake them in a hot oven f0r.25 minutes. .' 1

Turn the buns upside down on a plate and serve them hot for lunch or morning tea.

Nut Tea-cakes

: Use the standard recipe, adding 4 tablespoons of sugar and 1-egg, doubling the quantity of fat (4 tablespoons), and .reducing the, milk to J , cup. Cut the dough into ’ six long narrow pieces, roll them with the hands until they are ' long and - thin, and spread them with softened butter. Cut each long roll in two, . lay the . halves side ' by , side, and, beginning at the centre, twist them together and form them into a crescent shape. Sprinkle them thicklywith ■ chopped nuts, lay them on a greased oven tray, and bake them in a hot oven for 15 to 20 minutes. While the cakes are hot, spoon on a thin white icing made -with J cup of icing sugar and 1 tablespoon of hot water. ’ For a variation, 1 omit the nuts, ice the cakes, and sprinkle them with desiccated coconut.

Puddings Using Scone Mixture

. . . Cinnamon-top Pudding Add 2- tablespoons of sugar to the standard recipe. Mix the dough,-and spread it. Jin. thick in,a greased sandwich tin. Spread cinnamon mixture on top and bake the pudding in a

moderately-hot oven (400 degrees) for half an hour. Cinnamon mixture: Mix thoroughly 3 tablespoons of flour, 3 tablespoons of sugar, 1 tablespoon of , cinnamon, and 3 tablespoons of butter, and spread it over the scone dough before baking it. a , Served cold this : recipe makes a

good cake for lunch or morning tea. It keeps fresh for several days if stored in a tin.

Apple-cake Pudding

' Make the usual scone mixture, adding sugar and 1 egg. . Pat the dough into a glass. ovenware pie plate or sandwich tin. Press the edges of prepared apple slices into the dough close together. Mix 1 tablespoon of butter and 2 tablespoons of brown sugar and sprinkle it over the apples. Bake the pudding in a moderate oven for half an hour or until the apples are tender and glazed. ' . ,

Syrup Scone Steamed Pudding

Make a plain scone mixture with 2 cups of flour, 2 rounded teaspoons of baking powder, a pinch of salt, and milk to mix them to a . soft dough. Turn the mixture into a large greased pudding basin. Put 2 tablespoons of butter, -2 tablespoons of golden syrup, and i cup of sugar on top and pour over J 1 cup of hot water. Stand the basin in a saucepan containing enough rapidly-boiling water to reach, halfway up the basin and steam the . pudding for 40 minutes. • Do not cover the basin and do not steam the mixture for longer than 40 minutes or it will be soggy.

Peach and Honey Roll

Use the standard scone mixture, adding 1 tablespoon of sugar and 1 egg

and using less milk. Turn it on to a floured board and roll it into an oblong {in. thick. Lay cooked dried peaches over' the dough and roll it up. Put the roll into a baking dish and pour over it 3 tablespoons of honey melted in. sufficient hot water to make 3 breakfast cup of liquid. Bake the roll in a . moderately-hot oven for -35 to 40 minutes. Thicken the surplus fruit juice with cornflour and serve it as a sauce. Dried apricots can be > used instead of.peaches if preferred. Fruit Pyramid Pudding Make 1 'pint of red jelly the day before and put it aside to set. x Make the standard scone mixture, adding 1 tablespoon of sugar and 1 egg... Roll it out and form it into three different-sized scones Jin. thick, using a bread and butter plate (about 7in.), a saucer, and a teacup for judging the sizes. Prick them- over, bake them, and roll them in a clean cloth to cool. , Take lib. each of two kinds of fruit, one sweet and one tart, with a good contrast in colour, such as apples and dark red plums, or pears and damsons. 'Stew them. separately, making • as little , juice as ’ possible. Preserved fruit can be used in winter and then, as the choice will not be so restricted by, the fruit in season, many more combinations are possible. Try black currants with peaches, - raspberries with nectarines, or apricots with gooseberries. . - . ,

When cream is again allowed, whip the desired quantity, sweeten it, and divide it into three portions; tint one pale pink, another . pale green, and leave the third white. At present mock cream will have to ■: suffice; recipes for it are given later in this article. Split the two larger scones, fill them -with the paler fruit, and put a few blobs of green-tinted cream at the edges where they will show. Arrange the more - colourful fruit on top of each scone and put pink cream at the edges. Pile the filled scones, put the smallest one on top, spread the last of the paler fruit on it, cover it with white cream, and decorate it with blobs of green and pink cream. Set the pyramid on a serving dish. Break up the jelly with a fork and put it round the pudding, decorating it with the rest of the white cream! This-is a festive-looking sweet which would make a suitable dish for a birthday party. Strawberry Shortcake Add 1 egg, 2 tablespoons' of butter, and 1 tablespoon of sugar to the standard recipe; Jess milk will be needed. Divide the dough in halves and shape each into a round to fit a deep pie plate. Spread one round with softened butter, place the other on' top, and bake them in a hot oven for half an hour. Break the scone into two and put mashed ripe strawberries between and on top. When cream is available

put a layer of lightly-sweetened whipped cream over the crushed fruit on the top layer and decorate it with whole strawberries.

Any kind of stewed or preserved fruit can be used to make a shortcake. The fruit should be drained for the filling and the juice, as it is or thickened slightly with cornflour, served, separately as sauce.

Mock Cream

First recipe:- Mix loz. of butter and. 2oz. of sugar with 3 dessertspoons of boiling water until the sugar is. dissolved. Stir in full-cream milk powder gradually until the mixture is. the desired thickness. ' Add flavouring and colouring.

Second recipe: Cream loz. of butter and 2oz. of icing sugar and add top. milk drop by > drop’ until the mixture is the consistency of whipped cream.

Savoury Dishes

For the tops of meat casseroles,, minced meats, and similar dishes, scone mixture makes an appetising; change from pastry and suet crusts. Roll the dough thinner than for scones,, cut it into rounds, and arrange them on top of the meat, leaving spaces, between. Put the scone mixture on the meat about 15 minutes before the dish is needed and increase the heat to 425 degrees so that the scone crust is nicely browned and crisp on top.

Parsley Wheels for Pie Crust

Use the standard mixture, roll the dough very thin, and sprinkle it with 2 large tablespoons of chopped parsley, salt, and pepper. Roll it up, cut it into lin. thick rounds, and " arrange them on top of the meat with the cut sides showing. ,

As a change from mashed potatoes, these parsley wheels are excellent forthe top of a shepherd’s pie.

Savoury Dumplings for Stews

Add chopped parsley, powdered sage and thyme, onion juice, salt, and pepper to the standard scone mixture. Form it into small balls and drop them into the stew. Cover the pot closely and cook them for about 15 minutes.

Cheese Crisps

Halve the standard recipe, omit the milk, and add 1 cup of grated cheese, a pinch of cayenne pepper, 1 egg, and' 2 tablespoons of milk. Mix the flour, pepper, salt, and baking powder, rub. in the fat, add the cheese, and mix with beaten egg and just sufficient milk to make a stiff dough. Roll the mixture -gin. thick and cut it into strips 4 to sin. long and Jin. wide. Bake them in a hot oven for 10 minutes. Cool the crisps and store them in an airtight jar or tin.

Hot Dish for Lunch or Tea

Bake large round scones made from the standard recipe but using double the amount of fat. Split the scones while they are hot and fill them with hot minced , meat, fish in white sauce, stewed mushrooms, or a cooked tomato-cheese mixture. Any left-over-meat, chicken scraps, ham, or boned’ rabbit can be reheated in gravy or white sauce and used to fill the hot

scone cases.