Black Pepper Scones

By á-170456

Ingredients

• 4 cups all-purpose flour plus
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 13 tablespoons unsalted butter - (6 1/2 oz) chilled, and cut into small pieces
• 1 1/2 tablespoons medium-grind black pepper
• 2 1/2 teaspoons finely-chopped lemon peel
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream plus
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream for brushing

Details

Servings 18

Preparation

Step 1

Into a large bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Using two knives or a pastry blender, cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Gently stir in the pepper and lemon peel. Add the 1 1/2 cups cream all at once and mix until the dough just comes together.

Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead the dough into a ball. For a flakier consistency, do not knead the dough into a smooth ball. If smooth, the scone will be more cakelike. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, up to overnight.

Cut the dough into three equal pieces. Working with one piece at a time, keeping the other two pieces covered, roll out to a circle, 6 inches in diameter and 1/2 inch thick. Cut the circle into 6 wedges and arrange the wedges on one or two baking trays lined with parchment paper. Repeat with the remaining dough.

The scones can be cut out with a 2 1/2 inch cookie cutter if desired. Roll out the dough, cut, and place on a baking tray. Reroll the dough and continue cutting out circles. Proceed as in step 5.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly brush the scones with the remaining 2 tablespoons of cream and bake until golden, about 10 to 12 minutes.

Serve warm with butter, and jam if you like it.

This recipe yields 18 scones.