Ginger Scones

Over the weekend, I went down to Washington D.C. with a few friends of mine in order to visit other friends. One of my favorite thing about visiting different cities is to check out the food, of course, so I was quite excited when someone suggested Teaism for an afternoon snack. I'd read about them on other food blogs so I went straight for the ginger scones and a mug of chai. I love their scones. They don't suffer from dryness like so many scones do, and they had nice big chunks of candied ginger to bite into. A little butter on top didn't hurt either. It was almost good enough to distract me from the chocolate torte with green tea ice cream that K. was eating across the table from me.



Look at that gorgeous pile of strawberries! I consider it a supreme act of willpower and friendship that I didn't distract K. by yelling "Eek! A camouflage wallaby!" in order to steal it. Next time, chocolate!



Anyhow, now that I am back in NY and chilling on this lovely Monday, I decided to try out my own version of ginger scones. Actually, I googled for Teaism ginger scones and found a recipe they provided to the Food Network site; here is my version:

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
2 tablespoons frozen butter, chopped into small chunks
1/4 cup of crystallized ginger chips (mine are from King Arthur)
3/8 cup milk

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Whisk the dry ingredients in a small bowl to combine. Rub the butter in with your fingers until the flour mixture is the texture of cornmeal. It's okay (and in fact, good) to leave some larger chunks of butter; this will make the finished scones flaky instead of crumbly. Stir in ginger chips, and milk until the mixture is just combined. Don't overwork it. Pat out the dough to about 3/4" thick and cut into rounds. I used a 1.5" cutter and got about 11 little scones. Brush the tops with a little cream or milk and sprinkle coarse sugar on top. Bake for 10 minutes or until golden.

The verdict? Well, they taste pretty good but they're not quite like the ones at Teaism. I should probably have added a bit of ground ginger to the dough but I didn't have any, and didn't feel like running to the store. Also, my oven is gas and heats only from the bottom so I have a problem with getting the tops to brown (before the bottom burns). But, the ginger is nice and spicy....and I think I'm going to go have another one now!