It’s been so long since I’ve blogged that I’m not sure I will remember how to get this page up and published! I have to admit that I have missed this writing thing and when my buddy Dan D suggested that I blog about my current obsession with Irish scones, I thought well, why not? It’s only taken me a week and a couple of nudges to get going. I thought that once I retired (almost a year ago already!) I would get back in the habit of posting my nonsense, but I have put it off. I used to find a great deal of joy in writing and I believe I am finally ready to find that joy again. Once again, with Dan’s nudging and his own writing. Take a look at his Gratitude Tour stories. Each story brings me joy.

So, back to scones, the subject of this post. The Ex-Ex and I recently took our first big retirement trip- to Normandie and Dublin. We spent 10 glorious days traveling the little two-lane roads through farms, fields and cow pastures. We based ourselves in Bayeux, a beautiful town just big enough for shops, cafés and restaurants where, by the end of our stay, we were recognized by a few locals. We visited D-Day sites since the Ex-Ex has read most of the books written about WWII and watched Band of Brothers several times. Omaha, Utah, Arromanches, the Normandy American Cemetery, Carentan, St. Lô and my favorite, Sainte Mère Église. The weather was perfect (I can say that now without the fear of jinxing us), around 65˚F every day without the rain showers I anticipated. I thoroughly enjoyed the 3 Cs of Normandy- crêpes, Camembert et cidre. We tried organic cider and Calvados at a local producer’s tasting room. Calvados is another Normandy C, but it’s a bit strong for moi. The cider was heavenly. The Ex-Ex drove the little Citroën, I navigated with Google maps and translated. In Bayeux, we could only manage to get one TV channel and we ended up watching a show about what people try to bring into their suitcases in an Australian airport… dubbed in French. The Ex-Ex told me that translating it for him would be good for my French…

After our adventures in France, we headed over to Dublin for three days. Our airport, RDU, now has a direct flight to Dublin on Aer Lingus so we decided to give it a try. I had been to Dublin once before with a group of teachers on a Passports Educational Travel tour and I knew that the Ex-Ex would love it. We stayed in a great hotel, The Arlington, on the River Liffey, around the corner from O’Connell Street and a 5-minute walk to the Temple Bar area. We bought tickets to the Do Dublin hop-on hop-off bus and learned a lot about the city from the drivers. We toured Guinness Storehouse, ate at a couple of pubs recommended by a friend- I had the best toastie. It was the only thing on the menu- with onion, tomato, ham and cheese. With a cold Guinness half-pint (I love the half-pint glasses but didn’t bring any home…)

The real treat, in my humble opinion, were the hotel scones. We didn’t want the full Irish breakfast, so the hotel allowed us to have just scones and coffee. Oh my. I fell completely in love with them. They are not like the scones I have previously made or like the bakery scones here in Durham. They are light, fluffly and biscuit-y. I love biscuits, I am from the Appalachian Mountains by the way, and these were so very good. I asked the restaurant hostess about them. She said that she has never been embarrassed by the kitchen’s scones- a compliment if I ever heard one. She gave me some tips– just use regular milk, even 2%, and add an egg to the milk before stirring it into the flour mixture. Only knead the dough two times– do not over work it or the scones will not be as light. Sound advice. She suggested using sultanas instead of regular old raisins, but I have not found any yet. Golden raisins have worked well. I have now tried five different recipes. The Ex-Ex has not complained. Neither did Son #2 and his wife, DIL #1, ( when I shared some with them. I think that I have tinkered enough with my final recipe and declare it the winner. Try it and see what you think.

Irish Scones (original recipe from Gemma’s Bigger Bolder Baking)

Makes 9 2-1/2 inch scones

3-1/2 c. all-purpose flour

1/4 c. granulated sugar + extra for sprinkling on tops, optional

5 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

6 Tbsp. butter, cold and cubed

3/4 c. raisins or sultanas

1 large egg, at room temperature

1 c. milk, whole, 2% or buttermilk, if you wish

1/2 c. heavy cream or half and half

1. Preheat oven to 350˚F (180˚C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
3. Cut in the butter with your fingers or with a pastry cutter until the pieces are pea-sized. It should resemble breadcrumbs.
4. Add the raisins and stir to coat with the flour mixture.
5. In a medium bowl, measure the milk and half and half or cream and add the egg. Whisk to combine.
6. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix gently using a wooden spoon just until combined.
7. Turn the dough onto a floured surface and lightly knead once or twice with well-floured hands. Shape the dough into a 1-inch thick circle. Cut out the scones with a floured 2-1/2 inch biscuit cutter. Scrape together remaining dough and reshape and cut. You should have about 9 scones.
8. Place the scones on the prepared pan. Lightly sprinkle the tops with granulated sugar, if desired. Bake for 30 minutes. Transfer warm scones to a rack to cool.
9. Serve with salted butter and jam, honey, whipped cream, fruit or whatever sounds good to you!

These scones are best the day they are baked. If you have leftovers, place them in an airtight container or ziploc bag. They can be halved and toasted the next day and are still pretty good.

Bon appétit!