A few weeks ago I made Ginger-Pecan Scones. I'd meant to write up a post about them a while ago (so that they might be made for Mother's Day, perhaps?) but I wasn't able to. Although I've been cooking, I've also been working on finishing up my class and preparing job applications, so you can guess that blogging is what has to suffer a little. I'm actually heading to St. Louis in about an hour because I get to do something job-related there tomorrow, so I'll keep this post as brief as I can.
Ginger-Pecan Scones weren't the easiest scones to make, mostly because they had a lot of additions. They take toasted pecans (which on its own is fairly easy to do), and 3 kinds of ginger - grated, crystallized, and plain old ground ginger. In addition, this recipe makes 12, which means you have to make 2 rounds, which you then cut into 6 pieces. I got a little frustrated while I made these because I just felt like there was too much dough, since I'm used to making 8 scones at a time. I feel a little self-conscious saying that I couldn't cut it into even 6ths, but I couldn't. It also felt like a lot of work just to get to the point where I was actually making the dough.
I started by toasting the pecans as I heated the oven. I chopped them once they came out. I had candied ginger that I made a while ago, which I also chopped up to add to the scones; mine was a little hard and probably tougher to cut through than what you would buy. I grated fresh ginger before I started assembling the scone dough. I had all that prep to do before I even started working with flour and sugar!
Making the scone dough itself wasn't difficult. Combine the flour, sugar, leavenings, and ground ginger, and cut in butter or margarine with a pastry cutter (affiliate link) (which I always use). Add pecans and some of the candied ginger. Mix buttermilk (sour milk), vanilla, and grated ginger, and add that to the dry ingredients. Mix until just combined. Knead gently, then divide into 2 sections. Form each half into a 6-7 inch disk, and cut into 6 wedges. Transfer to baking sheet (you'll need two of them for 12 scones, or the scones might be crowded), brush with additional milk, and top with remaining candied ginger. Bake 20 minutes, until scones are golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
These tasted pretty good. They felt wholesome and hearty, with the spiciness of the ginger and the nutty flavor of the pecans. They had a great texture. However, like I said, I was frustrated making them. This was in part because I was in a rush, but also I felt like I was handling too much dough at once. If you weren't feeding many people, I'd suggest making a half batch. I actually had trouble making 6 even wedges, so I might actually make a ⅔ batch, pat it into a slightly larger circle, and cut the dough into 8 wedges. I think the baking time would be similar. They were good scones, and so they were worth making, in spite of my frustration - I'm sure others would expect to spend a little more time on them. I'm pretty sure I'll make them again.
Kay aka Babygirl says
Ginger Pecan Scones are new for me because I've never heard of them. But that doesn't mean I won't enjoy making these because I'm sure they will be delicious. Thanks for posting this 🙂