We make a lot of scones in our kitchen, but the basic currant scone is one of our very favorite and it’s the quintessential scone in our opinion! Currant scones have just the right amount of sweetness with the currants and a hint of brown sugar and we love the texture of these scones, too. You certainly don’t need icing on them, but sometimes you just feel like being a little bit decadent and this vanilla icing topped with sliced almonds is just the ticket!👩🍳
Scones are such a treat and we love them with a bit of a shortbread texture, so they are nice and crispy on the edges, but soft in the middle. Because we practically run a bed and breakfast for friends and family at our Idaho cabin during the summer, these scones usually greet each group of guests at least one morning during their stay. We have eight different scone recipes on our website, including a savory bacon and Gruyere cheese scone, which is sooooo delicious!
Scones freeze very well, so you can make a double batch in advance, freeze them and reheat them or serve at room temp when you’re ready to eat them. You can freeze them with or without the icing, but be sure to let the icing harden before you bag them up for freezing. If you choose to ice them later, that’s fine too, and maybe even easier for storing them.7
Currant Almond Scones
Ingredients
Scones:
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 4 tbsp. light brown sugar
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 2 tsp. cream of tartar
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 4 oz. butter, chilled and cut into small 1/2-inch pieces (8 tbsp. or 1 stick, or 1/2 cup)
- 1 cup currants rehydrated – see directions below
- 3/4 cup milk or half and half – your choice
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 1/4 cups sliced almonds toasted or un-toasted, your choice
Vanilla Icing
- 1 cup sifted powdered sugar
- 2 tbsp. milk
- 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425⁰. Prepare a baking sheet with cooking spray or parchment paper.
- To rehydrate the currants, place them in a small bowl. Pour about 1 cup of boiling water over them and allow this to sit for about 20 minutes. Strain or squeeze water out of currants before adding them to the dough.
- Sift flour, salt, baking soda and cream of tartar into a bowl. Stir in brown sugar. Using a pastry cutter or cold fingertips, cut the butter pieces into the dries until the pieces of butter are like small peas. Stir in the currants.
- Add milk all at once and mix just until integrated. Turn dough onto floured cloth or board and gather into a ball. You may need to absorb a little of the extra flour for this step, but be careful to not over handle your dough. Use a very light touch. Remember, as our British au pair once told me, “The keys to good scones are cold hands and a warm heart!” 💕
- Roll the dough ball out to about 1 ¼ inch in thickness. Cut dough into 8 triangles for large scones, or 12 triangles for smaller scones. Or, you can also use a biscuit cutter dipped in flour if you prefer round scones.
- Place scones on prepared baking sheet and bake for approximately 12-14 minutes, or until the tops begin to turn golden-brown. Remove from oven and cool completely before icing.
Make the Icing
- While the scones are baking, it’s time to make the icing. Simply blend the sifted powered sugar with the milk and vanilla using a whisk or fork. If it’s too runny, add a little more sugar, and if it’s too thick, then add more milk, a tiny bit at a time!
- Drizzle the icing over the cooled scones with a whisk and then top with sliced almonds. Reheat to serve, or serve at room temp. These scones store very well in the refrigerator or freezer, but just let the icing harden before you wrap them up to freeze.
Notes
- This is the pastry cutter we love best. It has a great non-slip handle and it’s very comfortable to use.
- You can also use dried cherries or cranberries in place of currants in this recipe.
- You may find that you need a little more or less milk than 3/4 cup. If so, just compensate by adding a little more milk or a tiny bit more flour to get to a soft dough that you can roll out. We find that different flours act differently and cause some variation in the amount of liquid they can absorb.