I wasn't planning on baking or cooking anything special for St. Patrick's Day. I've never really celebrated the holiday, and besides, I knew I'd be getting my Irish food fix from my co-worker's famous Irish soda bread.
But when I saw a photo of these mile-high Irish scones, I succumbed. How could I not make them?! Granted, it was 9 p.m. at night, and I was in no mood to venture to the grocery store. So I simplified both the ingredient list and the process, ensuring I had scones on my table in well under an hour.
These take less than 10 minutes to prepare, and thanks to a generous amount of butter and an easy folding technique, they are filled with flaky biscuit-like layers that you can pull apart as you eat. I really didn't want to have a ton of leftovers laying around, so I adapted the recipe to make four extra-large scones. That way, I could indulge for the holiday, without finding myself snacking on them for days to come.
Flaky, Buttery Irish Scones
Makes 4 large scones
- 1/2 cup cold whole milk
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter (ideally Kerrygold)
- 1/4 cup raisins or golden raisins
- flaky sea salt (for sprinkling)
Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a small bowl, whisk together the milk, sugar, and kosher salt.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour and baking powder. Cut the butter into 1/2" cubes, add to flour mixture, and blend with a pastry cutter or your fingertips until pea-size pieces form (some larger pieces are okay). Pour in the milk mixture, then stir with a fork. Knead in the bowl until the dough comes together. Transfer to a lightly-floured surface.
Using your hands or a floured rolling pin, roll out the dough into a 8x4" rectangle, with the long side facing you. Sprinkle the raisins over the dough, fold the bottom third of the dough over the center, then fold down the top to meet the bottom edge. Fold the dough in half crosswise, then lightly flatten into a rectangle. Cut dough into 4 large rectangles. Transfer to the prepared baking sheet, then sprinkle tops with flaky sea salt. Bake until scones are lightly golden brown, about 25 minutes. Serve warm, with tea and jam.
Recipe adapted from Epicurious.