scones, scones, and more scones!

If you think American scones are good, you are in for a treat when you discover Irish scones*!

*Disclaimer: The scones in this post should in no way be considered Irish scones or even a poor excuse for Irish scones.

When we visited a tiny town on the western coast called Dingle, we stayed in a wonderful guest house with the MOST amazing view of land and sea. The owner, a fine man named John, put out an impressive breakfast spread each morning, and his scones were among the highlights for me.

Scones are everywhere in Ireland, and most are good, but John's were absolutely wonderful. He was kind enough to give me his recipe, and though his were pretty much perfect (as they should be, after approximately 12,340 times making them!), this was my first attempt, and I pretty much blew it! He directs to hold back some of the liquid, and though I did that, I didn't hold back nearly enough. The texture of my scones was all wrong and they spread way too much in the oven, but I'm not deterred--I plan to try again ASAP! My scone cravings must be met!

For the record, as soon as I master these (stay tuned for a more appetizing batch)(I hope!), I don't ever plan to make (and might never even eat) a triangular, American-style scone again!

John's Fruit Scones
(printable recipe)
Makes about 3 dozen 2-inchers per John's recipe (1 dozen per mine)

Ingredients:
Scones:

• 900 grams plain white flour (2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour)
• Pinch of salt (Pinch of salt)
• 50 to 100 grams caster sugar (2 tablespoons granulated sugar)
• 3 heaped teaspoons baking powder (or 6 level teaspoons) (1 tablespoon baking powder)
• 175 grams butter (2 ounces or 1/4 cup butter)
• 3 eggs (1 egg)
• 450 ml milk (2/3 cup milk)
• Fistful of sultanas (or raisins)

Glaze:

• Egg wash (some of the egg and milk mixture that you have left over)

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 250 degrees C (475 degrees F).
Sieve all the dry ingredients together in a wide bowl.
Cut the butter into cubes. (John normally uses soft butter that mixes in very easily into the dry ingredients.)
Toss in the flour and rub in the butter.
Add in the sultanas.
Make a well in the centre.
Whisk the eggs and the milk and add to the dry ingredients (John does not add it all but leaves a little behind--if the mixture is still too dry then add more, and if you have any of the liquid left you can use it for the egg wash)(I should have left a LOT behind!) and mix to a soft dough.
Turn out onto a floured board.
Knead lightly just enough to shape into a round.
Roll out to about 2 cm (1 inch) thick and cut or stamp into scones.
Put on a baking sheet.
Brush the tops with egg wash.
Bake in oven for 10-12 minutes until golden brown on top. (John normally takes them out of the oven and takes out the scone that is in the middle of the tray, then cuts it into two and checks out the centre--if it is cooked, he leaves the scones out, if the scone is not fully cooked in the middle and looks a little doughy then he would put them back into the oven for another two minutes and check again.)
Cool on a wire rack.
Enjoy.

A real Irish scone:

One of our favorite memories of our trip is our ride along the Slea Head Drive. It takes you around the Dingle Peninsula and we found it to be extremely interesting and picturesque!

This is the Dunquin (Dún Chaoin) Pier, which lies at the western tip of the Dingle Peninsula, overlooking the Blasket Islands. John told us that ships used to dock here and haul their goods the 12 miles to the town of Dingle rather stop closer and risk being attacked. It was one of our best stops!

I'll leave you with this memorable (and undoubtedly accurate!) note placed inside the door of an outhouse near the Beehive Huts we visited: