QUEEN ELIZABETH’S DROP SCONES

By MaryEllen

In 1959, Eisenhower and his wife, Mamie, visited Queen Elizabeth II at Balmoral, an estate house in Scotland that has been a private residence for the royal family since the 1800s. In January 1960, the queen wrote a widely documented letter: “Dear Mr. President, Seeing a picture of you in today’s newspaper, standing in front of a barbecue grilling quail, reminded me that I had never sent you the recipe of the drop scones that I promised you at Balmoral. I hope you will find them successful.”

These drop scones are not what we think of as scones, which are similar to biscuits. Their other name, Scotch pancakes, is a more apt description.



Superfine sugar can be found in specialty grocery stores or blitz regular sugar in a small food processor. Adapted by Elaine Szlosberg of Raleigh.

Ingredients

• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup superfine sugar
• 1 1/2 cups whole milk, divided
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 teaspoons cream of tartar
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 6 tablespoons butter, divided

Preparation

Step 1

STIR together eggs, sugar and 3/4 cup milk in a medium bowl until fully combined. Add flour and stir until completely wet. Add remaining 3/4 cup milk, cream of tartar and baking soda. Stir to combine. Melt 2 tablespoons butter and fold that into batter.

HEAT a large skillet over medium-low heat. Melt 1 tablespoon butter as needed. Spoon about 1/4 cup batter into pan and cook until bubbles appear, about 2 to 3 minutes. Flip, cook until lightly browned, about 1 to 2 minutes. Serve with strawberry jam and English clotted cream or cream cheese.

Yield: 16 pancakes.