Mmmmm Scones (An Englishman's Battleground)

As you may know, I am a dairy-free, egg-free person due to allergies. This means that my treats have to be largely home-made and pretty inventive at times.  However, these scones are so easy to make, and never fail to please (actually, that’s a lie, I made them once with gluten free flour and oh my goodness… that FAILED TO PLEASE. They were disgusting, anyway, I digress)

I make no claims to the recipe, I adapted it from one I found online, however I’ve adapted it to be completely dairy free by using substitutes.

225g S-R Flour
¼ tsp salt
50g dairy free margarine
25g caster sugar
125ml soya milk (+ a little for brushing)

Essentially, sift the flour, add the salt and butter and rub it with your hands to make crumbs. Add the sugar and then add the milk a little at a time (I’ve found you don’t usually need all of it) whilst mixing with your hands until you get a dough.

Warning, this is a MESSY recipe. There’s a reason there’s no ‘during’ pictures – my hands were covered in scone mix. This is very definitely a ‘take off the rings’ recipe, or, if you have a tiny helper that likes doing messy jobs – this is a great one to do with them!

Roll or pat the dough into a flat shape (just less than an inch thick) and then cut into little circles with pastry cutters. Pop on a baking tray, brush with the milk and then pop it in the oven for 10 minutes or so, until they look scone-like. I always end up with one oddly misshapen one, after I’ve cut out as many as I can, I make one small blob-like one with the rest of the dough.

(Incidentally, if you’re wondering, I say scone like gone, not scone like stone. Her Majesty would say scone like soon, obviously that is correct.)

These are so quick and easy to make and are a perfect afternoon snack, especially if dinner is something that is going to take a while. I’ve been known to do them as pudding as well, if we fancy a little something sweet after dinner.

Gosh, aren’t scones a topic of division – I don’t have cream, what with being dairy free and all, but so you know – I put on spread, and then jelly.

Oh what? There’s more room for disagreement? I’m from ENGLAND and I said JELLY? You’re right, I did. Jam has seeds and fruit pulp in it, Jelly does not, it is completely strained and therefore mostly clear.  I know this because my mother makes jelly, and it’s the best stuff in the world! I also do not like jam, but I LOVE jelly.

Are we done with all the contention now? Brilliant, let’s sit down and have a cuppa and a scone!

Katy x