Scotland and The Perfect Scones

Hanging out in the U.K. is one of my favorite things. I love the food, the people and most of all .. tea time. Little cafes everywhere that serve up delicious tea and amazing treats. When I returned home after my first visit I vowed to recreate the perfect tea time as often as I could. I even bought a little beginner tea set : )

My first attempt at scones was a complete failure. I hadn’t realized that American scones were very different than British scones. The scones I had eaten in London were more like southern biscuits than the sweet Starbucks version I saw in the States daily. After finding the right recipe, it was a fail again because they wouldn’t rise. I continued to make them weekly even though they never came out just right. I tried multiple recipes with no success. When the opportunity to take a baking class in Scotland came up, I was so excited and immediately enrolled.

I was interested to learn where I was going wrong with my scones at home. I asked lots of questions trying to get to the bottom of my issue with them never rising properly. The teacher suggested things like expired baking powder or a different flour. I thought about it and continued to bake.

When my scones came out of the oven and were perfect I was so confused. I had made them so many times I knew that it wasn’t the recipe I was using and I knew it wasn’t my flour or baking powder..That’s when I noticed the biscuit cutter and it all made sense. I grew up in a kitchen where drinking glasses or coffee cups were often used to cut out biscuits before baking. I hadn’t realized that by doing this I was sealing the edges of the scone and preventing a full rise. I can’t believe such a small detail turned out to be the whole problem…When I got home I bought a set of sharp biscuit cutters and have had perfect scones every time. I don’t know if my brain would have ever made the connection without that baking class, so thank you to Bella’s for the lesson!

Amy Danielle

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