Vanilla Scones

How many of us remember that something that Mom baked?  I would venture to say that many of us do remember a special treat that our mothers baked.  It might have been ordinary, everyday baking, or it might have been a favorite Amalgamation cake that Mom only baked at Christmas.

May represents Mother's day.  My mother has not been able to bake for several years; so, when I bake, I remember her.

I never saw my mother use a vanilla bean.  She would have enjoyed baking with vanilla sugar.  The vanilla sugar 'shake' with vanilla bean 'straw' represent my contribution to recycling (I always save the bean, after scraping the seeds, and bury it in a container of granulated sugar.).  The sugar shake smells divine.  And, it lends its own special contribution to my baking.

I used the vanilla sugar to make triple vanilla scones.  They were delicious!  I found the recipe on Food Blog Search.  That took me to this post by Cookie Baker Lynn from 2008.  Good food just does not go out of style. 

I followed the recipe as printed, using heavy whipping cream and I weighed the dry ingredients by using this converter.  Let me offer this piece of advice.  Use the food processor as she suggests.  I used my 4.5 qt Kitchen Aid mixer and this recipe was too much for the mixer.  The motor strained and the flour in the bottom of the mixer bowl did not mix well.  I had to hand knead the dough, thus warming the butter.  After working through this minor mishap, the scones rose beautifully, and they tasted deliciously delicious.  

This scone recipe yields a scone that is ever so slightly 'cakey.'  But, not in a bad way.  They are a cross between a flaky, buttery scone and a cake scone.  

These are far better than the similar product at Starbucks; but, everything is always better fresh home baked!

Happy Mother's Day, Mom.  This wonderful, vanilla baked treat is in honor of you...love gale...