Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 cup buttermilk or plain yogurt

Additional sugar for sprinkling

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon salt

8 Tablespoons (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut up

1 cup raisins

2 Tablespoons granulated sugar

Yolk of 1 large egg

White of 1 large egg

Instructions

Heat oven to 375(. Put flour, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, and salt into a large bowl; stir to mix well. Add butter and cut in with a pastry blender or rub in with your fingers, until the mixture looks like fine granules. Add raisins and sugar; toss to distribute evenly.

Add egg yolk to buttermilk in a measuring cup and whisk with a fork to blend. Pour over the flour mixture and stir wit a fork until a soft dough forms.

Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and give 10 to 12 kneads. Cut dough in half. Knead each half briefly into a ball; turn smooth side up and pat into a 6" circle. Cut into 6 wedges, but do not separate wedges.

In a small bowl, beat the egg white with a fork until just broken up. Brush the top of each scone with egg white and sprinkle lightly with sugar. With a pancake turner, carefully transfer the two cut circles to an ungreased cookie sheet. IF necessary reshape circles so that the 6 wedges in each are touching. This will keep the raisins from burning

Bake 18 to 22 minutes, until medium brown. Cool on a wire rack; after 5 minutes pull the wedges apart and cover loosely with a dish towel

Whole-Wheat-Raisin Scone Variation: Replace 1 cup all-purpose flour with 1 cup whole-wheat flour, and add 1/2 cup miller's bran to the flour mixture. Omit nutmeg.

Comments

Egg white and sugar can be added before freezing the unbaked scones.