What better way to spend a gloomy rainy Saturday than with a warm Almond Spice Scone? Even better with a cup of tea and a good book! These scones are packed full of cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice with sliced almonds mixed in. If you want to read more about the science behind scones or the history of them, check out my blog post here.
Today, let’s talk about almonds! Believe it or not, almonds are technically seeds! They are closely related to peaches. Almonds are the pit inside a thin fuzzy hulled fruit. Almond trees are believed to be one of the first domesticated trees in the world. Almond trees are native to India, the Middle East and Africa. Almond processing is fairly straightforward. Ripe almonds are shaken from trees by a machine, then they are left on the ground to dry for up to 10 days. Next they are picked up by another machine, separated, hulled, shelled and packaged. The hull (outer part of the almond) is sold as animal bedding!
Almond Spice Scones
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon allspice
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, cold
- 1/4 cup plain yogurt
- 1/2 cup + 2 teaspoons milk
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
- 1/2 cup sliced almonds
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice in the bowl of a stand mixer. Stir together.
- Add cubed cold butter and mix until butter is pea sized.
- Add the yogurt, milk and extracts, mix until almost completely combined then add the sliced almonds.
- On a floured surface, turn dough onto counter and roll out until 1 inch thick. Cut the dough in half then cut each half into triangles.
- Brush the top of the scones with an egg wash and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar and more sliced almonds.
- Bake for 12-14 minutes!
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