Many years ago, my kids received a Star Wars cookbook that came with tiny cookie cutters shaped like Yoda, Darth, and R2D2. Clone Scones was the favorite out of all of the recipes, so this stellar army of buttery goodness appeared at every sleepover. Warm homemade scones topped with marmalade or strawberry jam and a thick swipe of Irish butter were a special treat for kids.

I found the following recipe in an old cookbook and it has always turned out perfect scones. They are quick and easy to make! The sleepovers have stopped over time, so the new tradition is surprising my grownup friends with golden scones and a jar of jam or lemon curd, lightly covered with a bright napkin and tucked in a basket.

Friendship Scones

Recipe for 12

Gather: 

3 cups bleached all-purpose flour

¼ cup sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

5 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter

¾ cup currants or other small, dried fruit (optional)

2 eggs

¾ cup milk

Egg wash: 1 egg well beaten with a pinch of salt

Baking stone (ideal) or cookie sheet (covered with baking parchment).

Do: 

1. Set the oven rack at the middle of the oven and preheat to 450 degrees.
2. Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl.
3. Cut the cold butter into 12 pieces and rub it evenly into the dry mixture until it has a cornmeal texture. (I use a pastry blender)
4. Add dried fruit, if desired.
5. Whisk the eggs and milk together and stir into the flour/butter mixture with a fork to form smooth dough.
6. Remove from the bowl to a floured surface and give it a light kneading 3 or 4 times.
7. Divide the dough into 3 pieces and pat to form thick, 5”-ish discs. Using a sharp knife, cut each disk into quarters, separating them on the stone or pan.
8. Apply egg wash to top and sides of each scone.
9. Bake the scones for 10-15 minutes, until they are golden and firm.

Serve with good butter, favorite jam or curd, and a pot of tea.

The featured image of friendship scones is courtesy of Annie Nardone and used with her kind permission for Cultivating and The Cultivating Project.

Annie Nardone

Annie Nardone is a flannel-clad, cowboy boot-shod adventurer who seldom travels with a map because joy and surprise are discovered in the journey! Her sincere passion is the reintegration of the arts and humanities with theology and the Christian imagination. She holds a Masters Degree in Cultural Apologetics from Houston Baptist University and writes for Literary Life and the quarterly magazine, An Unexpected Journal. Annie resides in Virginia with her Middle Earth/Narnia/Hogwarts-loving family, and an assemblage of sphynx cats and feline foundlings who read with her daily. In a poll taken among friends, six things that characterize her include: books, C.S. Lewis, spontaneous adventure, Shakespeare, caffeine, and cats.