I’m still working on that start of the year goal of using up all the mostly-used ingredients in my pantry. I went through a rye phase a few months ago, but stopped before I used up all the rye flour in my pantry. So a cup of flour was still sitting in its own bag. But it was put to very noble use in these scones, which conveniently called for exactly the amount I had left! Kismet!
My family is in town this weekend, so it’s the best time to get as much baking done as I can. My dad walked into the kitchen as these were coming out of the oven and said, “Now what on earth is going on here?!” And when he then tried to relay what these scones were to my sister, he called them, “rye and sun butter blessed with chocolate.” Which, I think, is a far better name than “brown butter rye scones.”
I think I might start calling all chocolate-chip baked goods “blessed with chocolate.” Pumpkin muffins blessed with chocolate, blondies blessed with chocolate, cake blessed with chocolate, banana bread blessed with chocolate.
My mom was skeptical of these, because she doesn’t like rye flour. Which I get! I don’t like rye bread, so it’s an understandable first reaction to want to keep rye flour as far away from scones as it can get. But rye flour can create so many things that are much, much better than rye bread. Rye bread really gives it a bad rep. In these scones, it just gives it an extra depth of flavor, almost like whole wheat flour might. It serves to make the actual scone a bit less sweet, to contrast with the glaze and the chocolate chips. It really is a delightful flavor.
It’s occurred to me, but I’ve never bothered to try it before these scones – browning the butter works remarkably well in these scones! I’ve made a few things brown butter by browning it and then letting it solidify again in the fridge. It usually works well to substitute for when you need non-melted butter, but want brown butter flavor. But I was skeptical of doing that in scones, because browning the butter alters the fat content in the butter a bit, and I didn’t know how that would work in a recipe where the butter is such an important element. But it worked very well in these!
I’ve sort of accidentally been doing a lot of brown butter recently. I’ll have to change it up here for a bit going forwards. But it’s just so yummy… so tempting to just keep blessing all my baked goods with brown butter, just like I bless them with chocolate.
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Adapted from King Arthur Flour
Ingredients
For the Scones:
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold, divided
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 cup rye flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon table salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1/3 cup milk
- 1 cup chocolate chips (optional)
For the Glaze:
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, browned
- 3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 to 2 tablespoons milk
Instructions
- To make the brown butter: Melt, then cook 5 tablespoons of the butter in a saucepan over medium heat, swirling occasionally, until golden brown. Pour into a heatproof container, cool slightly, then freeze until solid, about 2 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment.
- Combine the flours, baking powder, sugar, and salt until well blended.
- Work both the chilled brown butter and the additional 3 tablespoons butter into the flour mixture until unevenly crumbly.
- Combine the eggs and milk, then mix into the flour-butter mixture. Fold in chocolate chips.
- Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and pat it into an 8″ disk. Cut into 8 wedges and place on the baking sheet.
- Bake the scones for 15 to 18 minutes, until golden. Cool slightly before glazing.
- To make the glaze: Brown the butter as you did for the scones, then combine all the ingredients, adding enough milk to make a spreadable glaze. Glaze scones while still warm, and serve.
- Store any leftover scones well-wrapped, at room temperature, for several days. Freeze for longer storage.