Mornings at my house... Fresh Strawberry Scones

     I made Fresh Strawberry Scones for breakfast.  We devoured them!  Assembly was a bit of a challenge, but worth it.  This scone pushes the limit on wet and sticky when mixing it up.  Working the strawberries into the dough may test your patience.  With the help of a dough scraper and an occasional dusting of my hands with flour, I eventually had two nice little disks on the baking sheet. 
     I veered from the original recipe at the end.  Instead of mixing up the brown sugar, flour, and butter topping, I brushed my scones with more sour cream and coated the tops with brown and coarse sugar.  Also, the next time I make these, I will cut each disk into eight wedges instead of four.  They will spread during baking and each of my scones ended up being pretty large.  Regardless of how you do it,  these are delicious!

                                           adapted recipe from the Kitchn

FOR THE SCONES
• 3/4 cup sour cream
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 cup cold unsalted butter, cubed
• 1 cup roughly chopped strawberries

FOR THE TOPPING:
THE WAY THE KITCHN DID IT...
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 3 Tablespoons salted butter, softened
OR, DO AS I DID...
• Instead of the topping, above, I brushed each disk of dough with sour cream, then sprinkled generously with brown and coarse sugar.

• I always use a food processor to make my scones, but they can be mixed up in a bowl and the butter cut in by hand.

1.  In a large mixing bowl, whisk to combine the sour cream, egg, and vanilla extract.  Set aside.  In the bowl of a food processor, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Add the cubed butter and pulse until the butter is the size of small peas.  Pour the flour mixture into the bowl with the sour cream and mix gently to combine.
2.  When almost all of the flour has been incorporated, turn the dough out onto a work surface. It's o.k. if there is still some loose flour.  You can work it in while adding the strawberries.  This is where I dusted my hands liberally with flour and used a dough scraper.  Pat the dough into a triangle.  Sprinkle half of the strawberries over the dough and using the dough scraper, or a metal spatula, fold the dough over onto itself and flatten again into a rectangle.  Sprinkle the remaining strawberries over the top and repeat the folding process. Fold it once or twice more to work in the strawberries, being as gentle as possible. If any strawberries fall out, press them into the top.
3.  Transfer the dough to a baking sheet lined with Silpat or parchment paper.  Flatten the dough into one large disk about 1-inch thick, or divide the dough in half and make two smaller disks (this is where you will have to again use floured hands).  Transfer the baking sheet to the refrigerator and chill for 1 hour (or cover and chill overnight).
4.  A half hour before baking, heat the oven to 400°F. If you want to use the topping in the original recipe from the Kitchn, combine the flour and brown sugar, and then work in the butter using a fork until it becomes a smooth paste.  Remove the scones from the refrigerator and sprinkle with the topping.  If you want to do as I did, just brush the scones with sour cream and sprinkle generously with brown and coarse sugar.  Using a pizza wheel, or a very sharp knife, slice each disk into 8 equal-size wedges.  Separate the wedges as much as possible to avoid touching while baking.  Bake scones for approximately 20 minutes, or until golden brown.  Cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling.
• Scones are best eaten the day they are made.

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