One of the best things about winter weekend mornings is a hot cup of coffee and a slightly sweet pastry to go with it. These scones are light and flaky, the sweet potato flavor comes through nicely and goes well with the dried apricot and toasted walnuts.
Ingredients:
3 cups flour
2 ½ tsp baking powder
2 Tbsp sugar
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp ground ginger
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp ground cloves
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
10 Tbsp cold butter
⅔ cup cooked pureed sweet potato (I peeled and steamed it, then blended it)
½ cup heavy cream
1 egg
½ cup toasted chopped walnuts
½ cup chopped dried apricots
Pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees.
In a large bowl combine the dry ingredients (flour through nutmeg). Cube the cold butter and using your hands (or a pastry cutter) quickly combine it into the dry ingredients. I used my hands and mix the butter into the flour mixture just until it looks like coarse crumbs. You don’t want to take a lot of time doing this because you do not want the heat from your hand to start to soften the butter. So be quick! Set this bowl aside.
In a small bowl blend the sweet potato puree, heavy cream, and egg. Pour this mixture into the flour/butter bowl and quickly mix a few times (not too much), then throw in the walnuts and apricots and gently mix until just barely combined (If it seems too dry, add a drizzle of heavy cream). Then dump onto a lightly floured surface and divide into two pieces. Gently press one piece into a small rectangle and make a tri-fold to create layers, then shape into a disk and cut into 6 ‘pie’ pieces. Place onto a lined baking sheet. Do the same with the second piece of dough.
Brush the tops of the scones with a little cream and place on a middle rack in the pre-heated oven. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.
Remove from the oven and put on a cooking rack. Optional to make a glaze:
½ lemon juiced (about 2 teaspoons)
½ cup powdered sugar
Mix and drizzle or brush onto the top of the cooled scones.
~ Recipe and Photos by Meghan Feilmeier
Follow Meg on Instagram @meghan_moves and @meghan_feilmeier_photo
