Flaky, layered scones, with almond paste baked in.
Original recipe from Wild Wild Wisk.
Many times when I bake, it's because I have the sudden urge to do so and have to make do with whatever we have in the house. One of roommates had a large surplus of almonds and graciously let me use them for these. I'm not sure I'll ever be able to afford to make them again because it would require my life savings to buy this many almonds again.
I used this recipe to make homemade almond paste. My almonds had the skin on so I blanched them first which is pretty labor intensive work but from there it was easy to whip up in a food processor. It was pretty hard, however, to not eat it all with a spoon as it is delicious.
One the paste was made, I combined the other ingredients, rolled, tossed on the paste, rolled, cut, and topped with almonds for the oven.
Ingredients
Almond Paste
1 1/2 cups whole almonds (blanched)
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar (sifted)
1 large egg white (lightly beaten, at room temperature)
Optional: 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
Scones
2 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon baking powder
4 oz unsalted butter (cubed & cold)
1 large egg
3/4 cup buttermilk (or enough to fill 1 cup including the egg)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
7 oz almond paste (store-bought or homemade)
2 tablespoon sliced almond
Extra sugar for sprinkling
Instructions
Almond Paste
If you need to blanch the almonds, bring a small pot of water to a boil. Once it is boiling, put your almonds in for no more than 60 seconds. Remove them and immediately strain them and rinse with cold water. Skins should easily peel off.
Place the whole blanched almonds and 1/2 cup of the powdered sugar in a large, 7-cup food processor fitted with a steel blade. Process the nuts and sugar until the nuts are very finely ground, stopping periodically to scrape the sides of the processor bowl. The sugar will help prevent the nuts from turning into almond butter, but still be careful about over-processing.
Once the almonds are very finely ground, add the rest of the powdered sugar and pulse until it is completely mixed into the ground almonds.
Stop the processor and add the egg white and the almond extract, if using.
Turn the processor back on and process the almond paste until it comes together in a clump in the food processor.
If it seems very sticky, add a little more powdered sugar, a spoonful at a time, until it is smooth.
Scones
Preheat oven to 400°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Chop up the almond paste into small chips, store in a bowl and set aside.
In a measuring cup, add egg and buttermilk to fill 1 cup. Add vanilla and almond extract, and beat to combine. Set aside.
Add flour, sugar, salt, baking soda and baking powder to a medium mixing bowl and mix with a whisk to combine. Toss the cubed butter in the flour mixture and work it into the flour with the tip of your fingers until about large pea size.
Make a well in the middle of the flour mixture and pour in the liquid mixture set aside earlier, reserving about 2 tablespoons to use as egg wash. Fold with a spatula or wooden spoon until a wet dough forms.
Turn the dough out onto a well-floured board, pat the dough out to about 1/2” thick and fold it over itself. Do this a few times to create layers. Shape into a rectangle.
With a rolling pin, roll the dough out to about 1/4” thick and 12” - 14” long. Sprinkle the chopped almond paste evenly over the dough. Roll the dough into a log starting at the long edge. Then pat it down to about 1” thick. Cut into 8 triangles.
Place the scones on the prepared baking sheet, brush the top and sides with the reserved egg wash, sprinkle with some sliced almonds and a little bit of granulate sugar for shine.
Bake for 21-22 minutes until golden brown.
Let cool completely on a wire rack.
Comments