A hint of curry sweetness and a slight crunch of crystallized ginger makes these scones (full recipe here at the KA website) the perfect accompaniment to iced chai.  Scones are nothing more than sweetened, seasoned biscuits; thus, technique is important in achieving a tender, moist, flaky pastry.  Overmixing (which develops the gluten, leading to tough scones) is far too easy with a stand mixer.

Fortunately, a food processor is perfect for such a precise job.  All of the dry ingredients (flour,  leavening, add-ins like chopped crystallized ginger & seasonings) go for a quick whirl in the bowl, then chunks of butter take their turn.  A mere minute of processing yields perfectly cut-in butter flakes.  Next, the liquid ingredients go into the hopper, whizzed just until the dough comes together off the sides of the bowl.  Finally, turn the dough out onto a floured board, pat it into a square, and cut it into uniform pieces.  Bake at 425 until browned.  When I make the recipe again, I’ll include a little unsweetened coconut in the dough, swap the white sugar for brown, and sprinkle a little demerara on top for crunch.

A bag of white whole wheat flour prompted my foray into scones.  How to use this less-tannic, lighter colored version of wholegrain goodness?  My first sandwich loaf with it was mediocre, but the scones were good enough to repeat.  I wonder how the flour would perform as a piecrust?