The recipe for these sweet cream biscuits was selected by Melissa of Love at First Bite. I was so glad to see these come up on the TWD rotation. I have made them many many times. However, I call them scones.
You see, my dad lived in England during his college years and was spoiled by the scones they served for tea and at bake shops. He didn't like the other scone recipes I'd tried which were too dense or too dry or had so much spices added that so you couldn't taste the scone itself. For my dad, these scones are winners: lightly sweetened, tender & fluffy, not the least bit dry. They are buttery and flavorful without being overly rich. My dad is a traditionalist and favors raisin/currant scones. I personally like orange zest and dried cranberries or chopped dried apricots and almonds.
Scones vs. Biscuits?
I don't have a conclusive answer. To me it's all the same but some say that scones tend to be richer, including both eggs and cream in the recipe, though not always. Some biscuit recipes enrich the dough with eggs, but use milk or buttermilk instead of cream. Scones also use a bit more liquid than regular biscuits, which make them a bit more cake-like. While biscuit recipes may not call for sugar, scones typically use sugar. Lastly, scones are usually served with coffee and tea or as a dessert, biscuits are served more as a side bread often with breakfast.
**TIP** It helps to freeze these (and all other scones) on the baking sheet after shaping but prior to baking. This makes for a flakier biscuit/scone as the fat gets frozen and then melts into nice layers when it's baked.
**TIP**If you want to use fresh fruit you might want to reduce the liquid in the recipe by a couple tablespoons so the dough doesn't end up too wet.
43 comments:
goodjob!........................................
I posted scones on my blog not too long ago and i've seen a lot of scone recipes on blogs lately too! I never liked the traditional currants, but love your preference for dried apricots and almonds.
I always thought the scones-biscuit-confusion is due to my non-native-english-speaking, but obviously I am not alone with this issue :o]
To make it even worse - are english muffins the same as bicuits, just flatter?
Very interesting conversation here. Something about the triangle shapes is very appealing.
I l-o-v-e scones...especially ones with blueberries in them! How sweet of you to think of your dad when baking these. Im sure they tasted very good! They look great!
Loved reading about your dad growing up in England and the scone vs biscuit debate. I have been living in England for almost 20 yrs and love afternoon tea. Scones with cream and jam. Personally I like them plain without any fruit. Or with cheese in them - they are great with soup. I thought these biscuits were really soft and flaky as you describe. Different texture to a scone. Think I am a bit of a convert!
Thanks for the tips. I guess I never realized how close scones are to biscuits. That my be, because I have never made them.
OK, scones is now on my list to make.
Great tip about freezing them! I'll have to try that next time :) Your basket of biscuits/scones look beautiful!
Scones and biscuits are worlds apart to me, but I guess I just like my biscuits different from how you do. They look great either way :)
Scones. Biscuits. Whatever you call them, they look delicious! I loved these as biscuits but may dress them up next time and bake them as scones. :)
Thanks for the tips! I've been thinking about baking some scones recently and these will come in handy for me. Very nice!
thanks for the info. it's always so interesting to see how close recipes are and what we all define them as.
love your triangular shapes! :)
I love the tip about freezing them and can't wait to try an orange and cranberry version. Yum!
Interesting tidbits. Thanks for sharing! Your biscuits/scones look great!
Thanks for the tips - I need them! Your biscuits/scones look wonderful! Thanks so much for baking my selection this week!
Nice tip for freezing. I'll have to try that with my next batch!
Oooh wow your biscuits look great :). I live in Britain and biscuits are like a generic term for anything like an oreo, cookie, digestive..anything like that really as well as being similar to a scone hehe. Such confusion we obviously cause tee hee & to answer someones question up there a muffin is also like the americans call a muffin like a cake..but a proper british muffin is more like a doughy bread!! Hehe.
i actually happen to prefer scones over biscuits. Scones are usually less try and a little sweeter - which I like better! Yours look beautiful!!!
I love the creative turn you took with the biscuit recipe! Wow, do those scones look scrumptious!!
Great tips! I with you on flavors, I'll take orange zest and dried cranberries any day over currants.
Scones or biscuits, these look really delicious!
Your scones are lovely! Thanks for the tips. I'll have to freeze my dough next time.
That's so interesting about the scone vs biscuit debate. I like biscuits but I don't like scones. Then again I've only eaten one scone at a coffee shop and maybe it was stale b/c it was NOT tasty. Great tips at the end!
-CB
http://iheartfood4thought.com
Hi Tia,
There is an award waiting for you on my blog.
Great scone tips. Now I want scones!!
Great tips! :) Your scones (biscuits) look delicious!
Your triangular scones look great! I once got into a small argument with a woman within minutes of meeting her over biscuits vs scones! Now I just keep my mouth shut and eat them!
Love your scones. They look really delicious.
The fact that you dad who has lived in England (and tasted many wonderful scones, I'm sure) sang praises of your scones is simply a testament of your excellent baking skills!
I rarely bake scones, didn't get to bake along this week but still enjoying reading all the entries. And since we're on the subject of scones vs. biscuits, what are crumpets and how do they fit in???
@Jen - you asked about CRUNMPETS - They are usually cooked on a griddle or stovetop. They have a flat top with many small holes (they are leavened using baking powder) and are a little spongy and very slightly chewy (as opposed to flaky/tender as a biscuit) and porous. I find them quite bland and I much prefer scones!
How funny - I started making the "cream scones" from page 23... or 27? Then figured out these were the biscuits... LOVE your scone biscuits! Actually, I can't wait to make the cream scones now.... :)
Ciao Tia !! I love your version and I should try to freeze them !!!
Those biscuits must be delicious! They look very tempting!
Cheers,
Rosa
love the addition of dried fruit!
Thanks for the great tip about freezing. I'm going to try that soon!
Your biscuits/scones look delicious! Thanks for posting the freezer tip, I'll have to try that next time.
I like the tip about freezing them first. I will have to try that next time.
Beautiful job on the scones.
Mimi
I love scones! ooo warm scones with jam and clotted cream.....heaven! Scones are more like cakey-biscuits but everyone always argues about what they are. I don't care, they are lush as they are!
I never knew why you were supposed to freeze them first. Great tip! Your scones look lovely!
I made scones, too! Dorie's biscuit recipe is almost the same as my favorite scone recipe, so I had fun playing around with this one. Your "scones" look great and I love all the things you put in them!
Your biscuits look delicious! Just like your Dad, I love dried fruit in my scones but I also love cheese scones. However I am now a big fan of biscuits! They had a flakier texture than traditional scones. Will definitely make again. :-)
I can't really differentiate scones and biscuits too. :-P Thanks for the tips, will try it out soon and I'm sure that I will get biscuits that will look as tasty as yours!
I like your scone interpretation for the biscuits. I didn't add sugar to mine. I think scones and biscuits are pretty much the same, though.
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