Ok so let’s first deal with the pronunciation of the word scones. It’s pronounced “scons” as in “cons.” Not “scones” as in “cones.” How do I know? My Scottish grandmother told me. No less than 47 times. Also, “scons” were created in Ireland and apparently that’s how the Irish pronounce it too.
March 17th is St. Patrick’s Day. The perfect time to bake up a batch of scones. Guess whose birthday was also on March 17th! My late husband’s. I thought it would be rather fitting to share John’s scones recipe with you all. He’d like that. He was at his most Irish on St. Patrick’s Day.
St. Patrick’s Day Irish Scones
John first served these gems to me as an apology. He’d been staying at his parents’ cabin up the coast and I was joining him on the Friday night. Unfortunately in Just TypiKel fashion I missed the optimal ferry by a mere five minutes. Instantly regretting his shameful behaviour of yelling at me being a tad impatient upon learning I’d be arriving two hours late, he whipped up some scones. I forgave him on the spot. They were still warm from the oven. And beyond meltingly delicious.
Now, there’s just one weensy problem with sharing the recipe for these delicious morsels. I’ve actually never made them. My go to recipe is the Best of Bridge Cranberry Orange Scones. They are always delicious. But why haven’t I ever used John’s recipe? No idea. But if I’m going to share the recipe for them I really should make them I think.
Finding the recipe isn’t hard. It sits front and centre in his green recipe card box.
A quick perusal and I remember why I’ve never made them. Have a look and see if you can figure out why.
Yes. Add milk. But how much milk, John?
And then let’s have a gander at the reverse side of the recipe card.
This puppy was obviously written by someone who’s made these delights a 100 times before; a little short on other details, as in when to add the raisins. And the spelling needs tweaking but that’s churlish of me so forget I mentioned it.
Ok I can handle the raisin addition (hurl ’em in after the wet ingredients are added) but that milk puzzlement still throws me. But what the hell. I’ve got the luck of the Irish smiling down upon me surely. Let’s do it.
But first, a quick consult of the Best of Bridge scone recipe. It calls for 3/4 of a cup of buttermilk or yogurt but only one egg. This delight uses 3 eggs. With so much liquid on offer I decide it’s best to leave the milk out until the time when “the dough is sticky and wet.”
This was the right decision. The batter was most decidedly not sticky and wet after I added everything but the milk. So I added it bit by bit until it felt right.
My thoughts when they come out of the oven? They’re delicious. And most assuredly Irish. (Says this Canadian who has yet to go to Ireland. My husband’s maternal grandfather was Irish though and I’m sure (wink, wink) this is actually his recipe). I’d encourage you to make them. The ingredient list is small and they make more than enough for at least six hungry leprechaun’s.
Ok so here is the amended and kitchen tested recipe for John’s delicious
St. Patrick’s Day Irish Scones:
Ingredients
4 cups flour
pinch of salt
8 tsps of baking powder (I know! Could also be called St. Pat’s Day Baking Powder Scones)
3/4 c sugar
3 eggs (I beat them before adding)
1/2 c shortening (I used cold unsalted butter)
3/4 c milk (start with 1/2 and add more if batter is crumbly. You want sticky batter)
grated zest of one orange (Woooh! Look at me getting all inventive)
1 c raisins (I used dried cranberries because I prefer them)
2 tablespoons melted butter and some sanding sugar for the top
Preheat oven to 375 F. Tempting to do that 400F or the 350F I know, but go with 375F. Trust me, you’ll see why soon. Sift the flour in with the salt and the endless baking powder. Add the sugar, beaten eggs, butter shortening, 1/2 c of the milk, and zest. Mix. (Hands are best for testing for stickiness). Add the cranberries raisins and mix more using your hands. Add more milk if batter really crumbly. Gather all up into two balls. Place on floured counter and with floury hands press down the balls into two rounds of one inch thickness. Place on parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes. Then check them. Lovely and golden and firm in the center? Done. Place on cooling rack. Give them a minute or two then brush on the melted butter and sprinkle on the sugar. After a few more minutes cut ’em up into triangles and enjoy. Best eaten warm.
And the result? It’s clear they should have been in a bit longer. But then again I was flying blind as the dear boy didn’t include cooking time either. My Best of Bridge numbers usually take 18 minutes at 375 F. These beauts were in for 25 at 350F. They should have been in a weensy bit longer as they weren’t cooked right through. Uh well. Next time.
Enough about me and John’s St. Patrick’s Day Irish Scones. I’m curious about you. Do you have a favorite scone recipe? Care to share it? What does St. Patrick’s Day mean to you? Better yet, how do you pronounce scones?
51 Responses
Kelly: these look delicious (even if a little underdone)!! Sharing this recipe and its significance is a great way to introduce a “family” recipe, and give us a peak into the life you led with John. Plus it’s a great St. Patty’s Day treat! Now time for me to go off to the kitchen!!
Thanks Anna! I choked down my frustration after the first bite. They were pretty good and can only imagine how yummy they’d be if fully cooked. Happy St. Patrick’s Day to you! Hope it’s green and full of rainbows ….
I love anything with Cranberry’s in it! Scones can be tricky. You are very ambitious!
Well it was time Allie. That recipe had been taunting me for years. As for cranberries – we have the best cranberry store here. It’s devoted to them. Everytime I’m in Fort Langley I have to pop in and pick up a bag or two. You’d love them. Come on up!
They sound delicious! I have a recipe for apple/blueberry scones that my children love, but I think they just might like the raisin ones better. Of course, I’ve been pronouncing it wrong . . .
Hahahaha! Lots of Canadians say “scones” as in cones too. I always find myself biting my tongue trying not to “correct” them. My grandmother was adament that they are “scons” so I’ve always gone with that. However, either way, they’re always delicious, no? Apple and blueberry sound like a lovely combo.
I’m cracking up that he didn’t add cooking time or how much milk and LOVE this “(hurl ‘em in after the wet ingredients are added)” because awesome. And how amazing that you made them??? THANK you for hosting and baking scons (really??? because SK-long O-nes to me). Also that you just whatever with the raisins? So awesome.
Well it was time to make the damn things, Kristi. Been over 25 years. I could hear the recipe taunting me from the box. Probably the voice of one of the leprechauns that escaped from Tucker’s leprechaun trap!
Did I ever tell you about the oat cakes my husband and I took the ferry over to Le Havre (I think?) in Nova Scotia to get day after day during our one week staying in a house so surrounded by fog that we never saw the ocean, even though we were surrounded by it (like right off the back deck! It roared all night long, but we never SAW it.) I know, I know. Nova Scotia is to wherever you are as California is to where I am. Whole different country practically. But those oat cakes. (And look what Google just gave me! The recipe for those Scottish Oat Cakes and the correct spelling of Le Have, apparently. Try them!)
Looking forward to trying your recipe and crumbling one in honor of your John.
No you didn’t tell me about the oat cakes before. They sound so yummy. And you stayed in the house for a whole week and never saw the ocean? Wow. That’s really something. John and I went to Fortress of Louisbourg (I had to check spelling too) in Nova Scotia and it was bitterly cold. In June. Also very foggy. Perhaps we ran into you and didn’t even know it! I’m googling Scottish Oat Cakes right after I finish here. They do sound promising – that and the fact that you two braved the fog bound ferry daily to get them.
Those sound delicious, thanks for sharing the recipe. There is something so special about making a departed loved ones recipe, especially if it is handwritten ! Yes, I am with you on ” scons” !!
Am thinking of the recipe book you created Jane. Full of loved ones recipes. Though of you as I crafted this post. And isn’t it a shame we even have to mention how to pronounce “scons”? Really? I know one of your fave tv shows is pronounced “Bones” but still …
I have never made scones – I’ve collected all kinds of lovely recipes, but haven’t yet given them a try. If you can fly with this one, though, I’m convinced I can do it. I love recipes like that – scrawled in some old relative’s handwriting, lacking detail because, as you said, they made it so many times they didn’t really need the recipe. Such treasures. My Mom and my Grandmother’s instructions for measurement? “Cover the top” or “till it tastes right” or “until it looks right.” So specific. So not helpful. And yet? So perfect.
Great post – I’m off to find some scone recipes to try!
“Cover the top” or “till it tastes right” or “until it looks right” – I swear reading this that John knew your mother and grandmother. What a hoot. So do we cover the top with a lid, with tin foil, with plastic wrap? One of my big mistakes was not covering up a refrigerated pudding mix with plastic wrap. It formed a thick skin on top. Probably made it from one of John’s recipes … Happy scone making. Let me know how you make out.
Even after eleven years, my Husband still says “cover the top with what?”
Oh man. Now that’s funny. And so understandable.
Oh yes, definitely “scons.” It’s only the toffy-nosed would-be-if-they-could-be ne’er do wells that say “scones” because they think it’s posh 😀
I use cream and lemonade in mine. My mum always said they should be cooked in a round cake pan and they should all be touching so they hold each other up as they rise.
Thank you Lyn. “Scons” it is! Oh and I like the sound of youf cream and lemonade additions. Yum. And the concept of a round tin. Yes! Thank you for sharing. Sounds like I’ve got some more exploratory work cut out for me in the “scons” department.
Yes, scons, yes yes yes! I loved learning about John here and seeing his recipe written out. Making these this weekend. You’re my kind of baker, Kelly!
Oh yay! Do let me know how they work out. My two have already put in orders for some upon their return home. Now if I can only get the oven timing down …
Scone ….. as in cone.!!!! Really it is ! Lol Unless it’s eaten and then it’s scon as in ‘ gone ‘. or should that be gon ? My predictive text is throwing up all sorts of alternatives though !
Hahahahah! Surely not. My grandmother is rolling around in her grave like a rolling pin. Scon as is gone. Surely.
LOL at you getting inventive with your orange zest! I shall now call you a Foodie blogger. My father loves Butterscotch pie and my mother has never been able to bake it per the recipe his mother gave her. She gave up after all these years. I’m sure her MIL left something crucial out!
Hahaha! A foodie blogger? I had a gander at previous Just TypiKels and came across on I did on porcupine meatballs. So now there’s too. Yes, I am a foodie blogger. Grinning over the concept that her MIL left something out. Too funny.
Kelly, these sound great and the recipe sounds a bit like my mother-in-law’s for her famous Irish soda bread. Seriously, she makes it perfect every time, but you can tell when you look at her recipe that she just knows the ingredient amounts and such by heart, because she truly doesn’t have much written down herself when it comes to this part of the actual recipe.
Ooooh Janine you must get her to tell you the recipe and then you can write it down word for word. And ask timely appropriate questions. You’ll be spared the pain, I mean delight, I went through recreating these beauts. It really was like flying blind. My dog vanished to my bedroom. She couldn’t take it.
I always thought you needed a special triangle pan. At least that’s what I’ve told me son as he has begged me to make them because he loves the ones from Panera Bakery. I’m going to feel very self conscious the next time I go in to asked for scone pronouncing it the American way. LOL! I’ll let Christopher place the order. I love John’s recipe. It makes me realize that I need to fix a few of my own. Some are so freaked that the recipe I have would not create the final result and some are just like John’s where I’ve really only listed ingredients and not how to make it. I guess that’s why my husband’s and son’s attempt to make me pancakes for mother’s day didn’t come that great. They looked like biscuits!
They looked like biscuits? Oh too funny. You sound like John. Whenever he cooked he’d throw in a little of this and a little of that. Never followed the recipe exactly so why should he write it down exactly? You reminded me of when my two were little. With their dad passing away, they still wanted to make me breakfast on Mother’s Day. So we’d get all the ingredients ready the night before. Then they’d mix them together and call me and I’d have to shut my eyes to put the batter in the oven to bake the next morning. I got some pretty interesting treats back in the day …
These look yummy and I would prefer the cranberries, too!
Well thank you Lisa. And imagine how yummy they’d look if they were properly cooked!
Oh, I laughed out loud at the “add milk” – so funny! I pronounce scones with a long “o” but what do I know? I’ve never made scones, but I may try these. Would it be wrong to use chocolate chips instead of some healthy fruit?
Yes – add the chocolate chips. They’d be a perfect addition. Let me know if you do. Love to know how they work out.
Yum. I love scones. And that recipe looks doable. Plus I now know that I have gone my entire life pronouncing it wrong. Well not actually my entire life, since I don’t know I even knew what a scone was until I was in my 20s. Us Italians prefer our gelato!
Never too late to learn how to pronounce things correctly! How to you pronounce “calabrese”? Have heard at least two different ways but being of British ancestry I haven’t a clue which is correct. Also, I adore gelato and am totally convinced that the world needs more scoops.
Pretty sure I’ve never made scones – seems like it is a bit above my level. I like to cook but baking isn’t my thing.
Oh yum Kelly. While I’ve never made scones before, I’m ready to give your recipe a try. I was planning on making Irish soda bread this weekend, but I think I’m altering my plans now.
I have a number of family-handed-down recipes that are delightfully (or is that regrettably?) vague with regard to measurements, baking time and temps. And what makes me laugh most is that some of them have clearly been used a lot from the staining and wear-and-tear, and yet no one corrected them along the line.
I LOVE how you can make even a recipe sound funny, and heartfelt and personalized. Now THAT’S just typikel. And what a lovely introduction (for me) to John. I’m sure he would have loved that you shared the recipe. It sounds like he took great pride or at least pleasure in cooking. BIGHUG
Aw, thank you so much Katia. I really do appreciate your kind words. And the BIGHUG. And yes, John would have loved that I shared the recipe. He’d also be astounded that I managed to figure out the milk portion amount all by myself. He used to tease me because I’d always painstakingly follow a recipe = never veering off by even a smidge.
I lived in England for almost 4 years. My neighbors used to make fun of me for saying “scones” instead of “scons.” They said I was trying to sound posh. LOL!
Oh that’s funny Jill. Very posh indeed. Did they make fun of you over your “tomato” or “water” pronunciation as well? My mother says “Wahtah” and is very disappointed that her three darlings and all of their offspring say “Wahder.”
That totally looks like a recipe that my husband would write! Glad you made these and shared the recipe with us – will be trying them for sure. Have a great weekend!
Thank you Lana. If you do make them let me know how they worked out. And what changes, if any, you made. I’d love to hear about options!
I stand corrected! When I have spoken of a scone, it has always rhymed with cone!
Now that you have done the trial run, this definitely looks like a recipe to try! As all of our recipes slowly find their way on-line, it has occurred to me that we are giving something precious up. A handwritten recipe connects us to the cook in a way one in type just never could. Thanks for sharing this.
I agree with you Susan. We are giving up something precious, aren’t we? But you know, when I look at John’s handwriting I am astonished how similar it is to my son’s. He died when H was 16 months old. How is that possible?
Thank you for enlightening us on the proper pronunciation of “scones”—I had no idea I was saying it wrong all these years! What’s worse, my husband’s family is Scottish, so I really should have known better…oops!
Yay! Happy I was able to “help.” Thanks for reading and for stopping to leave a comment. I am toasting you with a “scon” in hand.
Most fun to read recipe post I’ve come across in a long time! LOL And glad to learn something today! Yep, I pronounced it as S-cones before Hahaha. Now, I’m gonna wait for every opportunity to correct somebody I know. 😀
What a great treasure to have this recipe card, in John’s handwriting, to bring back memories of happy times and to guide you in preparing his delicious scones. As an Irish gal who has been to Ireland a grand total of one time I say that you MUST go visit some day. It is even more beautiful than the pictures and the people could not be more friendly. Happy St. Pat’s Day!
So true Mo. I’ve got his recipe box and have yet to work through all of the recipes. Most are in his handwriting and it is indeed a treasure. Love that you’ve been to Ireland. I will get there. May the Irish eyes smile upon you tomorrow!
These kinds of recipes are actually my favorite. I love that you can tell the ingredients were written only as a mere reminder, not as a “recipe” that we think of today. Thank you for sharing this with us, it really was a lovely story. And these scones well they sound delish – I just love raisins. 🙂 Thanks for sharing
You’re welcome! Thank you for reading and for leaving such a lovely comment. The scones are rather delicious. I can only imagine how good they’ll be when I cook them for the correct amount of time! Happy St. Patrick’s Day to you!