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BUCKINGHAM PALACE SCONES

CONTENTS: Buckingham Palace Scones Cucumber Sandwiches Egg Salad Sandwiches Scottish Scones w/Cinammon Sugar Topping Stilton and Quince Jam Puff Pastries Back to Cooking Page

I made these scones for my friend's baby-shower tea. It took me about five tries to get them right - the secret is rolling the dough to no less than 1/2 inch (or you will have flat scones). Serve them with Devonshire cream and fresh strawberry jam - heaven.
3 1/2 C flour pinch salt 3/4 C butter 1 Tbs. Baking powder 1/2 C sugar 1 egg 1/2 C milk 1/2 C raisins(optional)	Cut together butter, flour, salt and baking powder. Add sugar and raisins. Make well in center of mixture; add egg and small amount of milk. If mixture is too dry, add more milk. Blend to a nice, smooth dough. Roll out on floured board to 1/2 inch thick. Use cutter with 2-inch fluted edge. Place on lightly greased baking sheet, brush with beaten egg. Bake in 400-425* oven for 10-20 minutes. Center of bottom should be lightly colored. NOTE: This original recipes says the oven temperature should be 350, which is much too low for scones. I raised it to somewhere between 400 and 425 and they came out much better.
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CUCUMBER SANDWICHES
1 Tbs. Finely chopped parsley 2 Tbs. Finely chopped watercress 1/2 C softened butter Thinly sliced bread Thinly sliced cucumber s & p	Mix parsley, watercress and softened butter. Using cookie cutter, cut bread into rounds the same diameter as the cucumber slices. Spread bread rounds with herb butter or butter spread (see below - Egg Salad Sandwiches), top with slice of cucumber, and season to taste with s&p. Cover with remaining bread rounds. Serve immediately or cover tightly with saran wrap and refrigerate.
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EGG SALAD SANDWICHES
5 eggs 2 Tbs. Mayonnaise 1 shallot 1 Tbs. Lemon juice 2 dashes Tabasco watercress Basic Butter Spread: 1/2 lb. Butter 8 oz. Cream cheese juice of 1 lemon s & white pepper	Cook eggs till hard-boiled (don't overcook). Rinse in cold water and peel. Roughly chop eggs, then add mayonnaise, shallot, lemon juice, and Tabasco. Lightly combine. Season w/salt and pepper. Spread butter spread on bottom of twist egg roll, layer egg salad on butter spread, top with some watercress, and cover with top of roll. For Butter Spread: In a bowl, cream the butter with the cream cheese and lemon juice till completely blended. Season to taste with s & p.
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SCOTTISH SCONES WITH CINNAMON SUGAR TOPPING
2 C all-purpose flour 2 tsp. baking powders 1/4 tsp. baking soda 3 Tbs. sugar 1/3 C butter, well chilled and cut up 1/2 C buttermilk 1 large egg Topping (amounts are approximate): 2 Tbs. heavy cream 2 Tbs. brown sugar, UNPACKED (must be broken up and granular) 1 Tbs. sugar 3/4 tsp. cinnamon (or more to taste preference)	1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit (400 degrees if using convection oven). Lightly grease a baking sheet. 2. In large food processor bowl, mix first 4 ingredients. Add butter chunks and process until crumbly. Add buttermilk and egg, stirring in just until moistened. Be very careful not to overwork the dough. 3. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and gently pat out into a circle approximately 7" in diameter. Using a sharp knife, divide into equal triangular pieces (makes 6 pieces). Use a large spatula to transfer to a lightly greased baking sheet. 4. Generously brush tops of wedges with heavy cream, then brush a second time with cream. In a small bowl mix together the brown sugar, sugar, and cinnamon and combine with a fork until all ingredients are mixed and sugars are grainy. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar generously over tops of wedges. 5. Bake for 12-15 minutes, until scones are lightly golden. Tops of scones may crack a bit with the sugary topping, but this is desired. Makes 6 triangle-shaped scones. Serve warm.
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STILTON AND QUINCE JAM PUFF PASTRIES
*I made these pastries for the shower also and they were a hit. They're easy to make and taste wonderful! Serve them in a basket lined with a large brightly colored paper napkin.*
1 puff pastry sheet, thawed an egg wash made by beating one large egg yolk with 1 tsp. water *1/4 lb. Chilled Stilton or Huntsman cheese** 1/2 C quince jam*	Preheat oven to 425 and lightly butter a baking sheet. On a lightly floured surface cut out 24 pastry rounds from pastry sheet with a 1 1/2" round cookie cutter (or glass) and arrange rounds 1 inch apart on baking sheet. Brush tops only of rounds with egg wash. Bake in middle of oven until puffed and golden brown, about 12 minutes (rounds will puff unevenly). Transfer rounds with a spatula to a rack and cool slightly. Trim bottoms of rounds if necessary to create level pastries and cool completely on rack. These can be made two days ahead and stored in a sealed plastic bag. Break Stilton or Huntsman cheese into 24 small pieces. Top each pastry round with one piece of Stilton and a tiny bit of Quince jam. *Huntsman cheese is a combination of Stilton and Cotswald - interesting and not too strong for those who don't like Stilton.
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