Chai-Spiced Scones

So here we are again...splashing coffee in the general direction of my left eye (thank goodness for glasses!) on a cloudy afternoon while writing the alphabet in the air with my recuperating foot.  No big deal. 

Lately I feel as if I've been drinking a lot of coffee.

Make no mistake.  I have been.

Interestingly enough, though,  I haven't been drinking more coffee than I normally would.  The difference is that now I'm actually making it myself, with my Keurig at home.  Since I'm typically traveling 4 days out of the way in the wilderness of Pennsylvania (OK, that's a little dramatic), I usually have someone at Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts pass me a cup of coffee on my trek into work.  (See, I told you I was being dramatic.  Obviously I'm not in the wilderness if there's a Starbucks around.  Duh.)  I've actually been so guilty of visiting my local Starbucks so much (potentially up to 3 times a day) that my morning barista offered to bring me coffee in NJ.  So yeahhh, I may have a slight problem.

But what I really want to tell you about has nothing to do with my clumsiness, the recuperation of my feet, or my favorite barista.  It has everything to do with finding the perfect complement to that cup of coffee.  I choose scones.  Specifically, I choose chai-spiced scones.  The perfect blend of warm spices really brighten up any cup of joe.  The scone isn't overly sweet and wouldn't object to a quick dunking in the coffee cup, either.  Even scones love coffee.  That's the truth.

Chai-Spiced Scones

very slightly adapted from Budget Bytes
makes 8 scones (or 16 mini scones)

Print Recipe

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons sugar + extra for topping the scones
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 5 tablespoons cold butter
• 1/4 cup milk
• 2 large eggs

1) Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.  Line a baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper.

2) In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and cardamom.  Whisk together until all the dry ingredients are incorporated evenly.


3) Cut the cold butter into chunks and add it to the dry ingredients.  Using your hands, rub the butter into the flour mixture until the flour has a grainy appearance.


4) In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs and milk.


5) Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture.  Stir everything together until it forms one lump of very moist dough.  If the dough is still crumbly and flour remains in the bottom of the bowl, add a small amount of water (about 1/2 to 1 tablespoon) to make the dough come together.


6) Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and shape it into one flat disc, about 1-inch thick.  (Shape the dough into two flat discs if you are making mini scones.)


7) Sprinkle the top of the dough with the extra sugar.


8) Cut the disc(s) into 8 wedge-shaped pieces.


9) Place the wedges on the baking sheet.  Bake the scones for 12-15 minutes, or until lightly golden brown on top.

The scones pretty much turned out as terrific as I thought they would.  They are crispy on the outside, but have a soft, almost biscuit-like interior.  If you've ever enjoyed a chai tea, chai latte, or anything similar, you will most definitely enjoy this treat.

Now.  As much as I love coffee, I know that not everyone's actually into it.  (Who are you people and what is wrong with you! Just kidding.  Sorta.)  These scones are forgiving.  You can dunk them in milk.  You can eat them with your morning OJ (dunking not recommended here).  So just make sure to get at these things.  Their spiced goodness awaits you.

Finally, please say you will forgive me for my excessive use of parentheses in this one blog post.  I have lots of thoughts, ladies and gentlemen.  I have lots of simultaneous, random thoughts on my brain.