I love scones. I love the combination of flakiness and density in a scone, and their versatility as a bread. As with most things, I personally lean towards more savory flavors, so when I found myself in a polish market and picked up a spice mix described as “Podlaska przyprawa na pieczywo” (or, as I was happy to find translated on the back of the package, “Podlaskie-region spice for bread”), I was thrilled….and of course my mind wandered off to “I wonder what these spices would taste like if mixed into scones instead of bread?” Well, the short answer is: DELICIOUS. After a little playing in the kitchen, I figured out the spice blend and the recipe below for perfect, easy, savory scones that you can make and bake in under a half hour.
This is a fantastic recipe for cooler days as I find the spice combination just aromatically warming. These also make an excellent side dish for Thanksgiving or other winter festivities!
The following recipe yields 8 scones
Ingredients:
2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
1/4 teaspoon anise
1/2 teaspoon rosemary
8 Tablespoons unsalted butter (room temperature)
1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup sour cream
1 egg
Preparation:
Pre-heat oven to 400 F
Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and all spices in medium bowl.
Chop butter into small dice sized pieces or grate with a cheese grater into the dry mixture. Kneed with your hands to work in the butter and form a coarse meal.
In a separate bowl, blend together egg, sour cream and honey until smooth. Then pour wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, mixing with your hands until evenly blended and formed into a ball. Keep kneading the dough until it appears equally moist throughout (do not add additional liquid; add additional flour–a very little at a time–if needed).
Place the ball of dough onto a lightly floured work surface and push out with fingers into an 8″ circle about 3/4″ thick. Line a cookie sheet with parchment, cut the dough circle into 8 slices and place on the parchment about 1″ apart.
Bake about 15 minutes until lightly golden (and until your kitchen smells deliciously like spices!). Delicious fresh from the oven, or will keep (in sealed container or wrap) for a few days. These freeze beautifully too.
Enjoy!