DATE CINNAMON SCONES

Date cinnamon scones. I love the quiet calm of the early morning hours. It’s the only time when my home stands still, when streams of shadows and light pour into my kitchen, waiting for a new day to start. It’s also the only time when I’m truly alone, and on some days, if I’m lucky, it’s that silent morning pause that brings about clarity of mind – almost like the universe pressed the “reset” button on my thoughts. Add a little morning baking session, with it’s soothing repetition, and my comfort-food-scented kitchen turns into a therapeutic sanctuary.

date cinnamon scones ARE the ultimate little recipe for a morning baking fix

So without further ado, here’s my recipe for date cinnamon scones – the ultimate little recipe for a morning baking fix. Adding dates to a scone makes them somewhat of Western/Middle Eastern hybrid, and the cinnamon injects warmth and depth to the flavor. Feel free use any dates you like. I like the caramel sweetness of Sagai dates, but you can easily use Medjool and Deglet Noor dates work just as well. Remember to chill your butter, buttermilk and eggs for the fluffiest, most tender results.

Note: You can make the dough and freeze it for up to a month. You can even shape the dough, flash freeze until firm and transfer into ziplock backs and freeze. Remove the scones from the freezer right before baking and bake in their frozen form – you’ll need to add a few minutes to the baking time.

Print Recipe

DATE CINNAMON SCONES

Servings: 4

INGREDIENTS

• 4 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 275 grams unsalted butter, cut into ¼ inch cubes and chilled
• 2 extra large eggs
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 cup chopped pitted dates
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  
  

Egg Wash:

• 1 egg beaten with a teaspoon of water
• 1 tablespoon caster or demerera sugar for sprinkling on the scone
  
  note that this recipe can be easily doubled if needed

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INSTRUCTIONS

1. Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and sugar in a bowl. Set aside.
2. Put the flour mixture in a food processor fitted with a steel blade (you can also do this with an electric mixer or by hand). Pulse a couple of times to distribute the ingredients.
3. Add the butter to the flour, pulsing several times (as many as 40 times if your butter is super cold!). Remember not to run your food processor or mixer continuously at this point. You need to see little lumps of butter in the mixture.
4. Combine the buttermilk, egg and vanilla in a bowl and mix until all the ingredients have been incorporated well.
5. Add the wet milk/egg mixture and the chopped dates to the flour mixture.
6. With your hands, combine all the ingredients together without over-mixing.
7. Put the dough onto a large, lightly-floured surface and form into a rough shaped disk, measuring approximately 2 to 3 inches high.
8. Cut the dough into three equal pieces.. Roll each piece into a ball. Cut four to six triangles out of each ball for a total of 8 to 12 triangles. alternatively you can cut rounds out of your dough using a fluted cookie cutter or make free-form balls.
9. The amount of scones your dough will yield depends on the height of the dough and size of your scone cutter. I like to shape my dough so it’s about three inches high for a hearty sized scone.
10. Place your shaped scones on a parchment lined baking tray, and freeze for AT LEAST 30 minutes or longer. I usually make my scones the night before I serve them and keep them in the freezer until ready to bake. You can also freeze the dough shapes for up to a month and use as needed. Remember to store them in airtight freezer bags if storing for a long period of time. you can bake the scones directly from the freezer.