Guess what! It only took me three years, but I finally got around to photographing these delightful citrus-y triangles of goodness again.
In case you feel like you're missing something, let me just show you the stellar first photographs:
Aw yeaaa such skills.
In the old post, I tried to get all scientific and experimented with double the amount of grapefruit, creating one soggy scone as you'll see on the right. These were also the days when I still felt the need to mass bake everything I made, forgetting that we didn't really live in a full house of teenage girls anymore. So I would double things, sometimes triple, and then think twice and put my freezer to good use.
Muchhhh better.
Pretty scones. Pretty light. Better patterns. No obnoxious blog fonts. Sometimes change is very, very good.
These light, fluffy, honey-sweetened and sugar-topped scones are a January sort of dream come true. We're in the middle of winter and we want flaky, buttery scones. We want the tang of Greek yogurt and the sweetness of raw honey, we want all the bright little citrus segments, we want the grapefruit sugar topping by the spoonful, we want doughnuts and cinnamon rolls, we want hearty chowders and cheesy breads, we want something other than Netflix and half-hearted reading materials, we really really want a job.
I mean..at least I do.
Applications on applications on applications.
Ahem, anyway. Let's address the process real quick. A whole Ruby Red is zested, and then it is peeled and segmented to get out the little gems of fruit. The zest is rubbed together with granulated sugar to create a wildly aromatic topping for our unbaked scones. Now, let it be known that I was using some rather old grapefruits here and a dull zester that's at least 30 years old.
Investing in a Microplane has never seemed like such a good idea. Grandma's tools have served me very well, but really, some things just have to go.
Some cold butter and dry ingredient cutting action going on here. See that nice, coarse texture? Those little chunks of floured butter are our flaky scone factor, treat them gently. To this mixture we add the honey, yogurt, and grapefruit segments in an attempt to moisten this dryness. I've also subbed sour cream for the yogurt with lovely results.
With a lightly floured surface and some gentle kneading, we incorporate the moisture throughout the dough and get rid of any stubborn dry bits. Then we pat our dough into a circle, and cut into 6 equal slices.
I'm out of parchment paper, so I just greased these rustic ol' baking sheets (also my Grandma's, ha). Finally our lovely zest-y sugar is put to use and is distributed evenly amongst our scones. It might seem like too much, it's definitely not.
Bake to just the right amount of golden brown, the centers should be just firmed but still slightly soft as well.
These are best after they've cooled straight from the oven for about 10 minutes. You can top them with jellies and jams and butters and spreads, but they're pretty dang perfect as is.
Onwards and forwards, there are more pretty pictures yet to take and fluffy scones to make. And employment, lots of employment. Please.
Grapefruit Honey Yogurt Scones
Yield: 6 scones
Ingredients:
- 6 tbsp. unsalted butter, cold
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1 Ruby Red grapefruit
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tbsp. honey
- 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
Directions:
Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 425 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. Dice cold butter into small chunks and set aside in the fridge to keep chilled. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
Zest the grapefruit and combine zest and granulated sugar on a clean cutting board. Rub together the zest and sugar with the back of a spoon or a plastic bench knife until very well combined, the sugar will be tinted a pale orange color and smell like grapefruit (Unless of course you're using a crappy zester and old grapefruit, in which you might not get the pretty orange color, whatevah). Measure 2 tablespoons of the grapefruit sugar and whisk into the dry ingredients. Save the remaining grapefruit sugar for topping the scones just before baking.
Next, segment the grapefruit. Slice off the bottom and top of the grapefruit, exposing the wheel of grapefruit flesh inside. Use a sharp knife to cut away the peel and pith of the grapefruit, exposing the pink grapefruit flesh. Slice in between the white skin segments to the center of the fruit, at a slight angle, circling the grapefruit. Little grapefruit segments should fall from their skin as you slice. Set segments aside.
Take the diced, cold butter out of the fridge and add to the dry ingredients. Using your fingers or a pastry blender, break the butter down into the flour mixture until butter chunks are the size of oat flakes or small peas. The butter and flour combined will resemble a coarse meal. Add the honey, plain yogurt, and grapefruit segments. Toss together with a fork until all of the dry ingredients are moistened by the yogurt and honey.
Turn the scone dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead gently to further distribute the moisture and bring the dough together. Pat into an 8 inch circle, about 1 inch thick. The dough will seem quite dense and sticky, that's just right (sprinkle lightly with flour if necessary, to make it easier to work with). Use a knife or a bench scraper to cut the dough into six triangles. Place on the prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle generously with the remaining grapefruit sugar.
Bake for 15 to 17 minutes, until golden brown on top and firm but soft in the center. Allow to cool on the pan for 10 minutes before serving. These scones are best served warm and/or the day they’re made.
Sources: barely adapted from Joy the Baker
