Fresh Strawberry Cream Scones

Servings 8 large scones

Ingredients

For the scone:

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
6 Tablespoons cold unsalted butter cut into small pieces
1 heaping cup of chopped strawberries patted dry with paper towels
1 large egg
1/2 cup or more of heavy cream
extra cream for brushing

For the icing:

1/2 cup confectioner's sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1-3 Tablespoons heavy cream

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
In a medium bowl, whisk flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
Cut in butter with a pastry cutter, two knives or you can rub the butter in with your fingertips, until the mixture is crumbly and you have varied size butter chunks no larger than peas.
Add chopped strawberries and lightly toss until berries are coated in flour mixture.
Crack an egg in a glass measuring cup then add cream until you reach 3/4 cup. Mix with a fork until well blended.
Make a well in the center of flour mixture and pour in the egg/cream mixture. Toss gently with a fork until you've distributed the liquid well and mixture begins to hold together a bit. Your mixture is going to seem to be too dry, but try to resist adding more liquid.
Use your hands to gently mix/lightly knead the mixture in the bowl until it comes together. You don't want to crush your berries and you don't want to melt the butter, so if you have hot hands, try using a large spoon or a spatula to fold the mixture onto itself in between using your hands.
Once the dough comes together with no crumbs, on a lightly floured surface, pat it into a large square or circle about 1 inch thick.
If you find your dough has gotten too soft from handling, you can put the bowl back in the refrigerator to firm up the butter or roll, cut and place on the cookie sheet, then slide it into the refrigerator or freezer for 10 -20 minutes.
Using a floured sharp knife, cut into 8 triangles, wedges or your desired scone shape and place on an ungreased baking sheet leaving 1-2" of space between for spreading.
Brush tops of unbaked scones with additional cream.
Bake for 15-18 minutes until lightly golden. Allow to cool and set up for a few minutes on the baking sheet, then remove to a rack to finish cooling.
Make icing. In a medium bowl whisk together sugar, vanilla and add cream a spoonful at a time until it's thick but spreadable. Place into a zip top bag with a corner snipped off and drizzle over cooled scones. Or, just use a spoon or fork and drizzle directly from the bowl over the scones. Icing will set as it dries.

Recipe Notes

*Store at room temperature covered. I wrapped mine in foil. They are best day one and two. They reheat nicely in a toaster oven, even after being iced.

*You don't have to go crazy patting your strawberries dry. I just chopped them up and pressed them gently between paper towels to soak up excess moisture. Then I let them sit on the paper towels until I was ready for them.

*If you don't want to ice your scones, you can sprinkle with raw or coarse sugar after you brush them with cream before baking.

*If you like a sweeter scone or if you're not using icing, you could increase the sugar in the scone recipe from 1/3 to 1/2 cup.