1) It's a bank holiday and my aim today is to not set foot outside
B) I'm wearing yoga pants
3) I've never been to yoga so nobody needs to see me dressed like this is public.
If you are more organised than I am and have pistachios, 1oz roughly chopped and added in when you're adding the raisins really make these scones superbly tasty.
A few pointers about scones-
Here in Ireland, they're pronounced to rhyme with "cones"
If you pronounce them to rhyme with "cons", you're either British or have notions.
That said, I do like this little poem-
I asked the maid in dulcet tone
To order me a buttered scone;
The silly girl has been and gone
And ordered me a buttered scone.
To make 6 large scones, you'll need:
10oz self-raising flour
3oz cold butter, chopped into small cubes
1oz caster sugar
5fl oz milk (ideally a little bit past its use-by date, just a day or so)
2oz sultanas
1oz pistachios (optional but recommended)
1 egg plus an extra for glazing
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Preheat your oven to 220 degrees (200 fan)
In a large bowl, use the tips of your fingers to rub the butter into the flour until the mixture has a texture like fine breadcrumbs.
Measure your milk in a jug and add the sugar to the milk, stirring to dissolve. Crack an egg into the milk mixture and beat.
Make a well in the centre of your flour and pour in the milk mixture.
Sprinkle on the raisins and, using a fork, pull all the dry ingredients into the centre of the bowl so that everything is mixed thoroughly.
Turn onto a floured surface and use your hands to pat into a round. The scones won't rise too much so your dough should be reasonably high- around 1.5-2 inches.
Line your baking sheet with greaseproof paper.
Using a cookie cutter, press out the scones and transfer to the baking tray. I used the largest cookie cutter I had and yielded 6 very large scones but you can use whatever size you need.
Use a pastry brush to glaze the top of the scones with an egg wash- an egg beaten with one tablespoon of milk.
Depending on the size of the scones, they'll take 12 - 16 minutes to bake. They're done when risen, golden and firm to touch.
Best served warm with lots and lots of real butter.
