My last baking adventure post wandered into a rantlet about scientific method, so for this one I'm sticking to Talking About The Recipe.Here be my current "scone" recipe. It's a blend of several scone & buttermilk biscuit recipes because that's how I roll. PUN INTENDED. HA.Before you begin:

• preheat oven to 425 degrees.
• If you're adding dried fruit, set 1 cup's worth of fruit to soak in hot water.
• Find your Really Big Bowl. Getting the dough to behave & fold into yummy layers is MUCH easier in a big bowl than on a counter. Plus then you don't have to clear as much countertop to work on.

1. mix together in your Really Big Bowl (I use a whisk)

3 c flour4 tsp baking powder1/2-1 tsp salt*plus ONLY IF you're doing a sweet scone: 1/4-1/2 c sugar

2. add in 1 super-cold stick of butter.

recommendations I ignore: cut the butter into small chunks & work into the flour mixture with your fingertips or fork or pastry cutter until it's all in flour-coated teeny pieces. Being me, I often use soft butter (GASP) and I think the results still come out tasty not "tough," but YMMV.

* also toss in 6-8 oz shredded cheese at the same time as the butter if you're craving cheezy/savory scones.

3. add in 1 cup milk or cream or buttermilk or milk mixed w/unflavored yogurt, all the variations give slight differences in final flavor. The important thing is, add about 1 cup total liquid.

*if you're making sweet fruit scones, drain most/all of the soaking liquid & add the fruit at the same time as the milk.

4. mix it all up in your Really Big Bowl with spoon and then hands until it comes together as a dough. It might be sticky, especially the fruit version if you left a lot of water in the fruit like I do when I don't feel like being patient/thorough about draining it.

4.1 If it turns out especially pain-in-the-ass wet, at this point you can plop spoonfuls on a cookie sheet and make drop scones out of it.

4.2 Otherwise for shaped treats, keep pressing it all together with floured hands until it just barely holds together in a ball. Fold the shaggy lump of dough in half in the bowl, then gently flatten it out again. Do that three or four times total -- the dough gets easier to work each time.

5. Squish out/roll the flattened dough until it's about 1/2" thick and cut into your preferred shapes. I like triangles because it's the most efficient use of the dough, and I can twist up the edge trimmings into freeform weirdling shapes. If the dough has worked up well, I shape & cut it in the bowl so I don't have to bother flouring the counter.6. Place treats on parchment papered cookie sheet & slide into the oven to bake.7. IMMEDIATELY DROP THE OVEN TEMP to 400.

Yes,  I did say pre-heat to 425. You can even pre-heat to 450. Biscuits & scones need the high temp to rise well. But I drop the temp as soon as they're in because if I leave the temp up, I always misjudge the shorter cook time and overcook the bottoms. Lowering the temp and cooking longer gives me a bigger "done" window.

8. Bake for about 15 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean/tops turn golden brown. (You can do fancy shit like paint the tops with milk or egg to make them brown up more. I can't be bothered. Cheezy scones get browner faster than fruit ones, go figure.

FULL DISCLAIMER: the cook time can be vary by plus OR minus 10 minutes depending on the size & shape & variety & oven quirks. That's nearly a 100% over/under, so keep a close eye on them the first few times.

That's it. The recipe is super-customizable and you can get a sheet's worth ready to bake before the oven finishes pre-heating once you get the hang of it. Plus it dirties only 1 bowl & 1 measuring cup and makes anywhere from 10 to 24 scones, depending on how BIG you like them.Happy experimenting, that's all until later!Almost forgot! Here's my obligatory promotional blurb:My  fantasy & SF novels make GREAT gifts. Or, y'know, you could buy them for yourself. Order from your favorite local bookstore or choose from online retailers behind this link: My Books2Read.com Author Page Here be more pictures of tasty treats, just for added entertainment value: