Oatmeal cinnamon-raisin scones are... *quickly searches handy thesaurus* ... scrumptious, mouthwatering, delectable. Yum. Another Baking Illustrated recipe.
1 & 1/2 cup old fashioned rolled oats, or instant oats
1/4 whole milk
1/4 heavy cream
1 egg
1 & 1/2 cup unbleached, low-protein flour, like Gold Medal (not King Arthur. If you use King Arthur, make sure to add a tbsp or two more milk)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
10 tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 cup raisins
I didn't have whole milk or heavy cream, so I just used 1/2 cup half and half, which seemed to work just as beautifully. Also, if you don't have unsalted butter (is an advocate of salted butter!), you can use salted, just remember not to put the extra salt in.
Spread the oats onto a cookie sheet.
And toast in the oven at 375, until lightly browned and fragrant. Let cool. Prepare a baking sheet. It says to use parchment paper, so if you have some, go for it. I had no problem with a naked pan.
Turn up the oven to 450.
Mix together cream, milk and egg in a medium sized mixing bowl. Set aside 1 tbsp for glaze.
Put flour, baking powder, cinnamon, sugar and salt in a food processor, fitted with a blade. Pulse until mixed, about 4 or so one-second pulses. Chop up the butter into small pats and dump on top of the flour mixture, then pulse about 14 one-second pulses, or until its the consistency of rough cornmeal. Mm.
Pour into separate, large mixing bowl. Add oats and raisins, keeping 2 tbsp of oats behind for use in dusting workspace. Pour in liquid mixture and fold together with a spatula until it forms these lovely mashy clumps. Then, the fun part... make sure your hands are clean, then dig into it yourself. I love squishing food with my hands: ground beef, mashed potatoes, frosting, if it's mushy I like to mush it. Anyway, back to the recipe. Knead it in the bowl, until it's in one cohesive mass.
Then, if you have one, use a 9 inch round cake pan. Sprinkle the bottom of the pan with half of your set aside oats, plop the ball in the middle, and squash it evenly into the pan, until it is flat. Then sprinkle the top with the other half of the oats, pat them, and move on with life. You can use a dough scraper or a brownie cutter or a chef's knife to cut the pie-like dough into eight parts. Taking the parts out may be kind of tricky, depending on the consistency of your dough. If they take a bit of smushing to come out, just reshape them.
Place them on your prepared baking sheet, 2 inch apart. Get out your 1 tbsp of cream/egg mixture and brush it onto each wedge, then top with 1 tbsp of sugar. By that I mean, start with 1 tbsp and use it for all of the scones, not a tbsp each. Which might seem obvious to you, but I found myself wondering what the book meant. o.o
Stick them in the oven for 12-14 minutes. They will look DELICIOUS and make you begin to hyperventilate, from the mouthwatering aroma of autumn cinnamon, and wholesome, hearty oats... but don't burn your face off trying to take a whiff from the oven, like someone silly. Not me. I wouldn't do anything so silly.
Wash dishes while you're waiting. It's a clever time-passing trick. Take pictures of your faucet, it really boosts your dish-washing energy levels.
This is how mine looked. *drools*
They were perfect. Fluffy, but dense, oaty, cinnamony, raisiny, and the glaze was delicious on top.
I strongly advise you to make them. Bake them. Eat them. Have some tea or milk or coffee. You'll feel like life is even more worth living. Honest. But you really should eat them outside, on a table in the yard, with a table cloth and a little vase of flowers, and your bestest friends or family with you. On your best china. That is what you should really do.
p.s. i wrote these instructions down by memory. do not come after me for vengeance if it goes wrong somehow, because i forgot to mention that the main ingredient is a cup of shrimp w/ heads. :D
