3226. BUTTERMILK BACON KUMQUAT SCONES

yields 20 scones


Dry Ingredients
3 1/4 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
6 oz. or 3/4 cup very cold butter

Wet Ingredients
1 egg
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla
5 strips bacon
1/2 cup rough chopped kumquat (seeds removed)

For the scone topping
20 slices of kumquats
turbinado sugar
buttermilk for brushing

Preheat oven to 400 Degrees. At this time put 6oz or 3/4 cup of butter in the freezer to ensure that your butter is very very cold.  After that you can chop a 1/2 cup kumquats with the seeds removed.

In a medium pan cook bacon until just done (do not crisp!). Remove the bacon from the pan, let it cool and chop into ¼ inch pieces. Add rough chopped kumquat to the pan with the bacon drippings. Saute for about 1-2 minutes until soft. Remove kumquats and all drippings. Set aside and let cool.

Remove butter from freezer and cut the butter into large cubes. Add butter to the dry ingredients. Using a pastry cutter, cut in butter until the butter resembles small peas.

In a large bowl, combine the “dry ingredients.”

In a small bowl, whisk egg, buttermilk, maple syrup, vanilla, bacon and kumquat/bacon dripping mixture.

Stir wet ingredients into dry ingredients just until moistened and throw some flour on a cutting board.

Split your batter into 4 even balls and take one of the balls and pat into a disk that is about 1 ½ inch thick, then cut into pie –like slices (you should get 6 slices per round). Carefully put each slice on a parchment covered baking sheet. Brush with buttermilk, sprinkle with turbinado sugar and place one kumquat slice on each.

Repeat this process until all of the batter has been utilized. Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes, until slightly browned.


bacon recipe courtesy of: Wedding Chicks.com, June 7, 2013