Saucy Minx is not known for her culinary skills, in fact, she considers herself domestically challenged…has been for decades! So after craving decent scones (authentic English scones like her mum used to bake) and not finding anything in Toronto bakeries or coffee shops resembling the real thing (not those leaden teacakes frequently passed off as “scones”), she decided to try her hand at baking a batch today. Easy-peasy, yes? Well…maybe. First, she had to find a blonde-friendly recipe on line. Eureka! Even a kitchen ditz like her can follow this one (see recipe at end of story).
First, let’s mix all the dry ingredients and rub in the butter….
Then add the milk, egg and vanilla, roll out the dough and use a cookie cutter to cut out the scones. Hmmm, no such utensil in Saucy Minx’s kitchen so let’s use a wine glass to cut out the scones (would help if there was wine in it but beggars can’t be choosers!) 
Now let’s pop the tray into the oven and see what comes up. 15 minutes to wait….yum yum yum…but let’s clean up first.
Gotta take a peep inside oven to see how they’re doing…maybe a little dry? Should have brushed more of the milk/butter over them to make a glaze. 
Fingers crossed…time to take ’em out now. 
They look a little dry, in fact they look like little limestone rocks! But it’s all in the tasting, yes? So here goes – just add some blackberry jam and whipped cream and….voila!
Saucy Minx decides to take the first bite and….
… sheer scone heaven! They are so delicious who cares what they look like? Not pretty but oh my, they’re just like mum’s. Well, this old dog learnt a new trick in the kitchen this afternoon. Saucy Minx is now grinning ear-to-ear and encourages you all to try this incredibly easy recipe. Good luck and happy scone-ing!
PLAIN ENGLISH SCONES: Serves: 18 one and a half inch scones or 6 – 8 large trianglar scones.
Ingredients
- 1⅔ cups all purpose flour
- 2½ tsp baking powder
- 3 tbsp white sugar
- pinch table salt table salt
- 3 tbsp butter
- ½ cup milk
- ½ tsp vanilla extract (optional)
- 1 egg
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. In a food processor add the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt. Pulse to mix together well. (You can just mix the ingredients in a bowl if you prefer the manual method)
3. Pulse in the butter until the mixture resembles a coarse meal. (or just use your fingertips to rub the butter through the dry ingredients until the same texture is achieved.)
4. Whisk together the milk, egg and vanilla. Reserve a few teaspoons of the liquid to brush on top of the scones. This helps them brown nicely)
5. Add the liquid to the dry ingredients and stir in quickly with a wooden spoon until a soft dough forms. It should be a little sticky. Don’t over work the dough or your scones will get tough and not rise well.
6. Turn the dough out onto a well floured board or counter top. Lightly sprinkle the top of the dough with flour and just using your hands, form the dough into a round about ¾ of an inch thick.
7. Using a 1½ inch biscuit cutter, cut out your scones and place them about 2 inches apart on a parchment lined baking sheet.
8. Re-roll the scraps and cut out the rest of the scones. Brush the tops of all the scones with the reserved milk and egg liquid.
9. Pop the scones into the hot oven for about 12-15 minutes or until the tops of the scones are evenly browned. Cool on a wire rack.
10. Serve with thick or clotted cream and your favorite jam.