Toffee Buttermilk Scones

Toffee Buttermilk Scones - made February 12, 2012, recipe adapted from Tartine by Elizabeth Prueitt and Chad Robertson (book #192)

I modified this recipe from Tartine.  The original recipe called for using currants but I'm not a fan of currants so I substituted toffee bits instead.  This made a lot of scones (almost 2 dozen) so if you don't need that many, you can easily make only half the recipe.

This was easy to make but, similar to biscuits and pie crust, you want to handle the dough as little as possible so gluten doesn't develop and so the texture is more tender than chewy.  I think I was only marginally successful as they weren't super flaky-tender as some other scones I've made but still, they came out fairly well.  I think what helped was that the crunch from the coarse sugar on top provided a nice contrast and some sweetness to the scone itself.  I used vanilla sugar I had gotten for Christmas (I love getting good ingredients as presents) to sprinkle on top of the scones and it was a nice touch.  The toffee bits were good too but to have more of a butterscotch flavor, next time I think I'd add chopped up butterscotch chips and perhaps substitute some of the granulated sugar for brown sugar.

4 ¾ (24 ounces) cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

¾ teaspoon baking soda

½ cup granulated sugar

1 ¼ teaspoon salt

1 cup + 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, very cold

1 ½ cups buttermilk

½ cup Heath bar toffee bits

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Large crystal sugar or granulated sugar for sprinkling

1.   Preheat the oven to 400⁰F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2.   Sift the flour, baking powder and baking soda into a food processor.  Add the sugar and salt and pulse briefly to mix.  Cut the butter into ½” cubes and scatter the cubes over the dry ingredients.  Pulse on and off so that you don’t break down the butter too much.  You want to end with a coarse mixture with pea-sized lumps of butter visible.

3.   Add the buttermilk all at once along with the toffee bits and mix gently with a wooden spoon or pulse briefly to mix.  If the mixture seems dry, add a little more buttermilk. 

4.   Dust your work surface with flour and turn the dough out onto it.  Using your hands, pat the dough into a rectangle about 18” x 5” x 1 ½”.  Brush the top with the melted butter and then sprinkle with the sugar.  Using a chef’s knife, cut the dough into 12 triangles.  Transfer the triangles to the prepared baking sheet.

5.   Bake the scones until the tops are lightly browned, 25 to 35 minutes.  Remove from the oven and serve immediately.