Caramel Apple Scones

Scones are Yummy. That’s really all I have to say about that. 🙂

Ingredients

2 ½ C. Flour

1 tsp Baking Powder

½ tsp Salt

¼ C. Sugar

½ C. Butter, super cold – frozen even works

½ C. Milk

1 C. chopped Apple – I like Gala

½ C. chopped Pecans

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 400F.

In a bowl, mix flour, baking powder, sugar and salt with a whisk to smooth out any large lumps. 

I hate large lumps. 

Now this might get weird for you, but stick with me here:

Grate the cold, cold butter into the flour mixture. The reason is, when butter gets warm, it melts. (I hope this isn’t news to you, but if it is, then I am proud to be the first person to welcome you to the planet earth.)

Melted butter will mix into flour like a paste. We DO NOT want pastey scones. I know for some kindergarteners eating paste seems like a good idea, but it really isn’t.

What we want is flakes. Remember this: Flakey is good, pastey is bad. Scones are pretty much sweet biscuits, so think of that texture when you’re wrapping your head around this recipe. 

Got it? Yay – let’s move on. 

Mix the apples and pecans into the flour/butter mixture until it looks pretty evenly combined. Then, make a well in the center. 

Basically, jab your fist in there to make a crater. 

Pour the milk in the well and then, with wide sweeping stirs that make your elbow stick into the air, fold it all together. At some point, stirring won’t work anymore so you wanna dig in with your hands. Just to remove the dry pockets of flour. 

Don’t overmix.

Now, get flour on your hands – so they don’t stick to the dough anymore, silly – and pat the dough into a round circle about 2-3 inches thick on a baking sheet with parchment paper. 

To save yourself the headache of trying to cut the crispy/soft masterpiece later, make sure you precut the dough. Kinda like a pizza, to make 8 triangles.

Bake for 15-20 minutes. The top should be beautifully browned and your kitchen should smell like happy feelings. 

Remove from the oven to cool before drizzling on the caramel sauce. (If you do it right now, it will all melt away.)

Caramel Sauce

3/4 C. Buttermilk

1 tsp light Corn Syrup

1/4 C. Butter

3/4 C. Sugar

1/2 tsp Baking Soda

1 tsp Vanilla

Mix all ingredients except vanilla in a super huge pot. Don’t look at me weird, I know it’s only like 1 cup of liquid, but the baking soda gives it lofty ideas, so trust me on this one. You don’t want to be cleaning caramel off of your stove top.

Ain’t nobody got time for that.

Heat to boiling, reduce heat and simmer until it becomes a rich, deep caramel color, you know what I’m talking about. About 10-20 minutes.

Remove from heat, stir in vanilla. keeps in the refrigerator for 1 month but I seriously doubt it will last that long.