Fruit-studded Fantasies at 5 a.m.

I'm trying to limit my baking these days as the temperatures soar—my oven heats up more than just the kitchen—but when I woke up at 5 a.m. the other day I said to myself "who wakes up at 5 a.m.?" And then I realized the answer was "bakers." (Except it's probably more like 3 a.m. for them.)

I've been fantasizing about making scones for months, imagining pillowy soft crumbs of decadent joy cascading from a fruit-studded treat. 

Which is not what scones are. Maybe I'm thinking of muffins.

These have a nice "tooth" and were good—quite good. Using all whole wheat flour makes them healthier but I suspect they might be a tad tastier and a bit softer if there was some white flour thrown into the mix (as the original recipe calls for). 

I used a recipe from Gale Gand, who I find to be a baking genius and a reliable recipe writer. Usually. Though I did modify the recipe, a few things in her instructions gave me pause, having never made scones before. My flour and butter never came together in a "coarse and sandy" mixture. Luckily I saw that wasn't going to happen and went ahead and added the milk, because the one thing I know about scones is that you don't want to overmix. I also assumed that with 3 tablespoons of baking powder there would be some rising going on (there was, just not as much as I expected). She suggests cutting the scones out at a one-inch thickness; I thought that was excessive and opted for about a half-inch thickness, which resulted in a greater yield: 14 scones total. If you are stingy with the cream and brown sugar on top the scones will not brown and get the glaze as shown in the picture here (which makes it hard to tell when they're done.)

Scones are famous for being a one-day-only treat; while they were certainly edible the next day the texture was not the same. I froze both baked and cut out but unbaked (before brushing with cream) scones; the raw frozen and freshly baked (which take about 20 to 25 minutes) scones were far superior. 

Whole Wheat Brown Sugar Scones
Adapted from Gale Gand, Butter Sugar Flour Eggs by Gale Gand,
Rick Tramonto, Julia Moskin (Clarkson N. Potter Publishers, 1999)

2 1/4 cups white whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups whole-grain pastry flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
3 tablespoons baking powder
8 tablespoons (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
3/4 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup skim milk
1 cup dried cranberries
2 tablespoons heavy cream
Brown sugar for sprinkling

Preheat the oven to 375°F.

Whisk together flours, salt, sugar, and baking powder. With a mixer running at low speed, add the butter and mix well. Add the milk and mix until almost combined, then add the currants and mix just to distribute them evenly through the dough. Do not overmix; there may still be some flour not mixed in. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead the dough 10 times. With a lightly floured rolling pin, roll out the dough 1/2-inch thick. With a biscuit or cookie cutter or a clean empty can, cut out circles about 2 1/2 inches in diameter.

Transfer to an ungreased baking sheet with a spatula. Knead the scraps
together just until combined, then roll out again and continue cutting out circles
until all the dough is used up. Brush the tops of the scones liberally with cream and
sprinkle with brown sugar. Bake until light golden brown, about 15 minutes.