Vanilla Bean Scones

Before a few months ago, I had not had the pleasure of working with vanilla beans. I was perfectly happy unscrewing the vanilla bottle I bought at the grocery store and using it to my heart's content.

Then, I got it in my head to make my own vanilla extract, so I ordered some vanilla beans online. After my vanilla extract was finished, I used it with such frequency that I had to start a new bottle brewing almost immediately. I couldn't believe how much of a difference homemade vanilla extract made!

So, when I saw The Pioneer Woman's vanilla bean scones, I knew they were in my future. I've made scones before, but the addition of vanilla beans in these really took them above and beyond the call of scone duty. With the glaze on these, they are really almost like a dessert! I ended up glazing them about 3 times because I really wanted them to be coated in the sweet vanilla.

As always, PW has an excellent tutorial on her site, so I wont even try to walk you through it. I don't however, have a pastry cutter, so I used the old trick of using a cheese grater for cutting the cold butter and then working it with my hands. Works like a dream!



Every step in these scones had me pausing to marvel at the little vanilla bean speck throughout...its the small things in life. =)



These scones stayed fresh for a very long time! I had them in a tupperware container and they were still every bit as good a week after I made them!

Vanilla Bean Scones

3 cups All-purpose Flour

⅔ cups Sugar

5 teaspoons Baking Powder

½ teaspoons Salt

2 sticks (1/2 Pound) UNSALTED Butter, Chilled

1 whole Large Egg

¾ cups Heavy Cream (more If Needed)

2 whole Vanilla Beans

3 cups Powdered Sugar, Sifted

½ cups Whole Milk

1 whole Vanilla Bean

Dash Of Salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Split the vanilla beans down the middle lengthwise and scrape out all the vanilla “caviar” inside. Stir caviar into cream. Set aside for 15 minutes.

Sift together flour, 2/3 cup sugar, baking powder, and salt.
Cut cold butter into pats, then use a pastry cutter or two knives to cut the butter into the flour. Keep going until mixture resembles crumbs.

Mix vanilla cream with egg, then combine with flour mixture; stir gently with a fork just until it comes together.

Turn dough onto a floured surface and lightly press it together until it forms a rough rectangle. (Mixture will be pretty crumbly.) Use a rolling pin to roll into a rectangle about 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch thick. Use your hands to help with the forming if necessary.

Use a knife to trim into a symmetrical rectangle, then cut the rectangle into 12 symmetrical squares/rectangles. Next, cut each square/rectangle in half diagonally, to form two triangles.

Transfer to a parchment or baking mat-lined cookie sheet and bake for 18 minutes, removing from the oven just before they start to turn golden. Allow to cool for 15 minutes on the cookie sheet, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

To make the icing, split one vanilla bean in half lengthwise and scrape out the caviar. Stir caviar into milk; allow to sit for awhile. Mix powdered sugar with the vanilla milk, adding more powdered sugar or milk if necessary to get the consistency the right thickness. Stir or whisk until completely smooth.

One at a time, carefully dunk each cooled scone in the glaze, turning it over if necessary. Transfer to parchment paper or the cooling rack. Allow the glaze to set completely, about an hour.