-
1
Preheat oven to 400F (200C).
-
2
Butter and flour a baking sheet or line with baking parchment.
-
3
Mix flour, baking powder, soda, salt and sugar; sift into a medium bowl.
-
4
With a pastry blender or with fingertips, cut butter into dry ingredients until mixture is the consistency of fine crumbs.
-
5
Whisk buttermilk with eggs.
-
6
Pour in milk all at once and stir to mix.
-
7
As soon as mixture holds together, turn out onto a floured work surface and knead lightly.
-
8
Roll to a thickness of 1/2 to 3/4 inch; cut into 2 1/2 inch rounds with floured cutter.
-
9
Or halve dough and knead gently to form 2 balls.
-
10
Flatten each ball to a thickness of 1/2 to 1 inch.
-
11
With a sharp knife, cut each round into 8 triangles.
-
12
Arrange on prepared baking sheet and bake until golden brown (20 to 30 minutes).
-
13
Serve hot with butter, preserves and cream, if desired.
-
14
ORANGE/LEMON SCONES: With buttermilk-egg mixture, add 1 tablespoon grated orange or lemon rind.
-
15
RAISIN SCONES: With buttermilk-egg mixture, add 1 cup dark or golden raisins, dried currants or a combination.
-
16
SPICE SCONES: To dry ingredients, add 1 teaspoon mixed spices (equal amounts of ground cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and allspice).
