Homemade baking is a great way to reduce your intake of hydrogenated and trans fats used in many commercial baked goods.

Basic Scone with Variations

500 mL ( 2 cups) Western Family all-purpose flour
2 mL (½ tsp) salt
20 mL (4 tsp) Western Family baking powder
90 mL (6 Tbsp) Western Family butter, cold
175 mL (¾ cup) 1% milk, cold*

*You may need up to 2 Tbsp (30 mL) more milk, depending on the temperature of the butter, the room and your hands.

1. Preheat oven to 425?F (220°C).

2. Combine flour, salt and baking powder in a large bowl. Mix well with a fork.

3. Cut in cold butter with a pastry blender or 2 knives until the size of peas.

4. Gradually add cold milk while mixing lightly with a fork.

5. Discard fork and use your hands to gently pull dough together into a ball. Do not squeeze or knead the dough.

6. Once the dough has come together (and is not sticky or wet), place on a lightly floured counter.

7. Pat into a rough flat circle about 6”-7” (15-18 cm) in diameter and about 1-1/2-2” (4-5 cm) thick.

8. Use a sharp, unserrated knife to cut the circle into 8 wedges. If preferred use a biscuit cookie cutter.

9. Place wedges on ungreased baking sheet and bake for about 15-17 minutes. Remove to a cooling rack. Serve warm or cold.


Makes 8 servings

Nutritional analysis per serving
Calories 202 Protein 4.1 g Fat 9.2 g Carbohydrate 25 g Fibre 0.9 g
(before fruit added)

Variations:

• Cheese and Herb: Reduce the butter to 4 Tbsp. Add 1-1/2 cups grated old cheddar, 1/8 tsp cayenne and 1-2 tsp fresh herbs like rosemary or sage to the dry ingredients after cutting in the butter. For dry herbs, us just 1-1/2 tsp.
• Basic Sweet Recipe: Same as the main recipe but add ¼ cup white or brown sugar to the dry ingredients before cutting in the butter.
• Cranberry and Orange: Use the sweet recipe but add 1 cup frozen cranberries and the grated peel of 1 orange to the dry ingredients after cutting in the butter.