Recipe from America’s Test Kitchen Kids https://www.americastestkitchen.com/kids/recipes/simple-cream-scones

This time of year is absolutely gorgeous where we live. We typically eat most our meals outdoors and enjoy it as much as possible. My daughter is loving helping out in the kitchen, packing up picnics. We sit in the grass in our backyard and the sunshine and fresh air is such a mood lifter.

Sometimes it can be a struggle to get my daughter to complete some of her morning school work. I tell her, as soon as she finishes her work she can help me with our picnic, and that really encourages her to get her work done.

Last week, our morning work consisted of baking these lovely simple cream scones to be the centerpiece of our picnic. This recipe was a real hit and will definitely be repeated often.

You can watch us make simple cream scones by clicking on this YouTube video link here: https://youtu.be/GlO2Hr-sVtY

It was a great way to address shapes, geometry, with my four year old son. First, forming a circle with the dough, then cutting it into triangles. Simple and effective. Working with manipulatives is such a great way to explore math and make your child’s leaning concrete. If your manipulatives are edible, well, that’s a bonus!

Make sure to have a ruler on hand. The more you have your child using a ruler, the more familiar they will become with measurement and it will help them be better at estimating distances and lengths. We use the ruler to measure the diameter, the distance across the center of the circle, of our dough as we work to form an 8″ circle.

When cutting the dough into triangles, I make sure my daughter does the cutting. She is the one breaking the whole circle of dough into equal parts, fractions. Fractions can be a challenging concept for children to understand, so the younger you get them working with fractions and talking about them, the better. Next time you have a pizza night, make sure you take advantage of the opportunity to discuss fractions

This recipe requires few ingredients and is easy and fun to make. Best of all, it’s absolutely scrumptious! Top them with butter and jam or nutella and enjoy!

Ingredients to prepare:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch pieces and chilled
• 1 cup heavy cream

Equipment needed:

• Rimmed baking sheet
• Parchment paper
• Food processor
• Large bowl
• Rubber spatula
• Ruler
• Bench scraper (or butter knife)
• Oven mitts
• Cooling rack

STEP 1: Preheat oven to 425 degrees, adjust oven rack to middle position. Line rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.

STEP 2: Place flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in food processor. Process for 3 seconds.

STEP 3: Remove lid of processor and sprinkle in the chilled butter over the flour mixture. Lock lid back into place. Hold the pulse button for 1-second and release. Repeat until mixture looks like coarse crumbs, about ten 1-second pulses. Remove lid and carefully remove the processor blade (adult help).

STEP 4: Transfer the flour-butter mixture to a large bowl and add cream, using a rubber spatula stir until just combined. Do not overmix. Once no dry flour is visible, stop stirring.

STEP 5: Transfer mixture to clean counter (or large cutting board) and use your hands to gather the mixture and form a ball of dough. Pat the dough into an 8-inch circle. Use bench scraper (butter knife) to cut circle into 8 triangular wedges. Transfer wedges to rimmed baking sheet.

STEP 6: Place baking sheet into the oven for approximately 10-14 minutes, until scones are light brown on top.

STEP 7: Use oven mitts to remove baking sheet from the oven (adult supervision). Pace the baking sheet on cooling rack and let scones cool on baking sheet for 15 minutes.

STEP 8: Transfer scones directly to cooling rack and let cool for an additional 30 minutes before serving. You should be tidying up the kitchen during this time!

STEP 9: Top your scones with your favorite toppings and enjoy!