Balls and Walnuts
more than you ever wanted to know
Results of the Great 2006 Scone-Off
Our contestants: Beth and Kate. Click links to get the recipes.
Procedure: With meticulous care, I mixed my dried cranberries and cherries in one bowl so that each recipe would have identical fruit. I set everything up so that I could combine my wet and dry ingredients with something approximating simultaneity, in order to bake them all together. Unfortunately, I forgot to add the butter in Beth’s recipe.
Not to worry. I still had plenty of ingredients, but my master plan of controlling for fruit was foiled. For Beth’s recipe (second batch, +butter), I used equal parts dried cherries and currants.
I baked the scones in a 400F oven until golden brown, meanwhile finishing Jennifer Crusie’s Bet Me (hah! I really do have something to talk about on Monday’s SBD!) I had originally intended not to judge the results owing to the surfeit of carbs, but Bet Me made me indulgent.
Before we discuss the results, let’s meet our judges.
Judge #1 has been eating scones for at least the last thirty years. Asked if she remembers her first scone, Judge #1 replies, “No,” thus undermining rule #1 of blogging (keep it interesting).
Judge #2 has never eaten a scone in his life, but he has been a dedicated eater of food for the last ten years. He is tough to please, but tends to be loyal to a recipe once he finds something he likes.
Now let’s meet our scones.
Beth’s scone is on the left (see the currants?) and Kate’s scone is on the right. All judges, including the non-voting judge (me), agreed that both recipes yielded equally handsome scones.
Preparer’s Comments: Beth’s recipe is by far the easier one to prepare. I hate zesting lemons, and it’s much easier to cut melted butter into the dry ingredients than cold butter. I could see whipping Beth’s scones together on a whim. Kate’s, maybe not.
Beth’s first batch (the butter-free scones) were surprisingly good. Needless to say, our voting judges did not partake of the butter-free scones.
The Judges speak.
Judge #1 thought that both scones were delicious, far lighter and tastier than any store-bought or even bakery-bought scones she’d ever had. She had to give the edge to Kate’s scones, however, thanks to the added complexity of the lemon. She also thought Kate’s scones were slightly moister on the inside.
Judge #2 felt that Kate’s scones were the clear winner. He loves the lemon flavor.
Our non-voting judge preferred Beth’s scones to Kate’s, not just because of the easier preparation, but for the flavor, too. I thought the lemon zest gave Kate’s scones a bitter edge, and the lemon tended to overwhelm all the other flavors. Beth’s scones had a more subtle finish. If I were blowing my diet completely, I could scarf down lots of Beth’s scones, but I think I would get sick of the lemon flavor if I ate more than four or five of Kate’s.
Incidentally, both scones had equally good texture, and I agree with Judge #1 that these scones — both recipes — are far better than any I’ve had elsewhere.
There you have it. Kate’s scones win, 2:1. I ought to point out that Beth’s recipe calls for Irish butter, which may be difficult for you to find. I happened to remember which local store carried it, so yes, Beth, I used the real thing. And you’re right — that stuff is good.
My apologies for not making this pornographic, but that is my son up there, you know?
D.
You know, if I was judging by looks, I’d have to give my vote to Kate’s scone, but I’m not big on lemon zest. I’ve only had scones twice, once from Albertson’s bakery (I know, store bought, but it was still tasty), and then I bought a pumpkin/cranberry mix from Cost Plus. Never again…they went down like lead balloons.I would never attempt this from scratch…hate working with sticky dough, and I hate looking for fancy ingredients (like Irish butter). I’m dying to know what makes Irish butter better.
See, I think much of it depends on what you fill em with. I’m not a big currant fan, nor am I fond of lemon zestiness in a scone. The best ever was when I made em with dried sour cherries.
And it doesn’t have to be Irish butter, but Irish is just better all around. It’s creamier and more flavorful and just yummmmm. Incidentally, it’s way cheaper at my local fruit market and the international food mart – about the same price as regular ole American butter. The Danish butter (Lurpak) is also excellent.
Anyway – hurrah for Doug, raising scone awareness! They’re SO different when not store-bought. Another food entirely.
Sis, knowing your tastes, I’d stick to Beth’s recipe. And as I mentioned above, Beth’s recipe is dead easy. Stir it up and scoop it out. They don’t have to be pretty — hell, you want them to look irregular.
Beth, at first I was going to use nothing but cranberries on both, but then I couldn’t find dried cranberries in the store — “orange craisins”, crap like that, but no plain cranberries. I bought two packs of dried cherries. Turns out one of them was dried cranberries, misfiled. Then I screwed up your recipe the first time through and had to use the only other dried fruit I had in the house to bring everything up to the required amount. Thank God I didn’t try to make Jim’s and Crystal’s recipes, too. As it was, I nearly screwed everything up.
I want to try these, especially Beth’s. I’m thinking maybe I’ll try cherry-flavoured cranberries, mostly because Dean doesn’t like them as much so I won’t have to share.
sxKitten, you’re evil.
I wonder how Beth’s recipe would be with chocolate chips?
Thank you. I try 😉
sniff, sniff…I’m so proud. The recipe I basically ripped off won!!
I wanna vote these two for “cutest judges”, especially judge number 2. Either of my daughters are available for an arranged marriage, Doug.
I haven’t had the pleasure of trying Kate’s scones yet, but I have made Beth’s scones twice and I love them. I make them with dried apricots and white chocolate chips though.
Oh so good if you’re looking for an alternative filling-wise.
Yeah, Blue Gal, I do get to hang with the cutest judges 😉 Jake wants measurements*.
BSC, sounds great. The neat thing about Beth’s recipe is that you could put anything into it. I guess you could say the same for Kate’s provided you omit the lemon rind if it’s weird.
*Just kidding.