Scones with Pears, Irish Cheddar, and Honey

Name: Scones with Pears, Irish Cheddar, and Honey
Prep time: 20 min
Total time: 35 min
Yield: 8 servings
Ingredients: 3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting; 1 tablespoon baking powder; 3/4 teaspoon baking soda; 1/4 cup sugar; 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt; 1 1/2 sticks cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces; 1 teaspoon caraway seeds; 1/2 cup currants; 1 cup buttermilk, plus more as needed and for brushing; Cored and sliced ripe pears, such as Red Anjou, Comice, Red Bartlett, or Seckel, for serving; Sliced cheddar, preferably Irish, for serving; Honey, for drizzling

Recipe photo courtesy of Yuki Sugiura

Irish cheddar nicely complements the floral honey and sweet pears that are sandwiched in the scones.

Source: Martha Stewart Living, March 2015

35 mins 20 mins 8

Total Time Prep Servings

Ingredients

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, 2 tablespoons sugar, and salt in a large bowl to combine. Add butter to bowl and, working with a few pieces at a time, scoop some butter and flour mixture into your hands. Squeeze butter, pressing thumbs across your fingertips to flatten into petal shapes. Repeat until all butter is flattened and coated with flour mixture.
2. Add caraway seeds and currants to bowl, tossing to combine. Slowly add 1 cup buttermilk, stirring constantly with a fork, just until mixture begins to form clumps. Add more buttermilk if necessary, 1 tablespoon at a time, until no dry flour mixture remains in bowl.
3. Transfer mixture to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Lightly dust hands with flour and gather mixture into a ball, gently squeezing to form a dough (it may still crumble slightly).
4. Flatten dough to a 1-inch thickness and fold in half. Flatten and fold once more. Gently shape into a 1-inch-thick, 7-inch-diameter round. Cut into 8 equal wedges, then separate wedges 1/2 inch apart. Brush tops with buttermilk; sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons sugar.
5. Bake scones until puffed, golden brown on top, and hollow-sounding when tapped on bottoms, 15 to 18 minutes. Let cool slightly on a wire rack. To serve, split scones, sandwich pear and cheddar slices, and drizzle with honey.

Cook's Notes

The dough can be shaped into a disk, wrapped in plastic, and refrigerated 1 day ahead. Cut the dough into wedges, brush the tops with buttermilk, and sprinkle with sugar just before baking.