I recently made Taylor Swift’s Chai Cookies, and they did not disappoint. However, those cookies have been made and posted approximately one million times on the internet. So I wanted to do something a bit more original with them. I think there’s a ton of different riffs you could do with the cookies (different teas, different glazes, etc.). And I’ve still got a lot of tea bags left, so there could be more exploration in the future. But for now, I decided to just turn them into scones!
Spoiler alert for those of you who have not yet seen the last episode of this year’s Bake Off, but their signature challenge was to make two kinds of scones. They had very particular requirements on shape and uniformity that got me wondering again wat the variety of scones there are. My ideal scone is one that’s rustic (like these), often times triangular, and sort of crumbly. But you see all kinds of scones out there, and I think British scones are sometimes more akin to an American biscuit.
I feel like I need to do a deep dive on scone history and variety. It’s overdo, considering how much wondering I’ve done. Maybe I will and do a post about it. A little history project!
I’ve vaguely started that December activity of piecing together ideas for “goals” for next year. One area I want to set a goal for is this blog, and branching out with some different forms of posts is one of those ideas. So maybe there’ll be more deep dive posts about different baked goods! We’ll see!
But until I learn all about scones, and because I’m not British, and not being judged by Paul and Prue, I can just make my own rustic scones. In a way that would be approved by Taylor Swift, if she was judging. I think that’s good enough for me!
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PinIngredients
Scones
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled), plus more for hands and work surface
- 2 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 bag of chai tea
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp) unsalted butter, frozen
- 1/2 cup heavy cream (plus 2 Tbsp for brushing)
- 1/2 cup packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Glaze
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1/2 bag of chai tea, or 1/4 tsp nutmeg + 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 3 tablespoons whole milk or eggnog
Instructions
- Whisk flour, baking powder, spices, tea, and salt together in a large bowl. Grate the frozen butter using a box grater. Add it to the flour mixture and combine with a pastry cutter, two forks, or your fingers until the mixture comes together in pea-sized crumbs. See video above for a closer look at the texture. Place in the refrigerator or freezer as you mix the wet ingredients together.
- Whisk 1/2 cup heavy cream, brown sugar, the egg, and vanilla extract together in a small bowl. Drizzle over the flour mixture, add the cinnamon chips, then mix together until everything appears moistened.
- Pour onto the counter and, with floured hands, work dough into a ball as best you can. Dough will be sticky. If it’s too sticky, add a little more flour. If it seems too dry, add 1-2 more Tablespoons heavy cream. Press into an 8-inch disc and, with a sharp knife or bench scraper, cut into 8 wedges.
- Brush scones with remaining heavy cream.
- Place scones on a plate or lined baking sheet (if your fridge has space!) and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400°F (204°C).
- Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mat. After refrigerating, arrange scones 2-3 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet(s).
- Bake for 22-25 minutes or until golden brown around the edges and lightly browned on top. Remove from the oven and cool for a few minutes.
- Prepare the glaze by whisking together all of the ingredients until homogenous. Pour over scones and let harden.
- Leftover scones keep well at room temperature for 2 days or in the refrigerator for 5 days.