In The Weeds: Butterscotch and Currant Scones

I am not materialistic.

My truck and my mountain bike are my prized possessions. Then there’s the vintage 57 Teal T-bird, his and her wave runners, 72 in HDTV, Kurt Geiger Chelseas, and Prada Sunglasses.

Just kidding; I only have the first two. There is another treasure in my life, (no not her) and it’s pictured here.

My coffee thermos.

I’m not sure when I made the transition from mug to thermos, but once it took hold, there was no going back. In fact, I’m surprised they still make mugs. I find them completely useless except maybe for holding pens on your desk. My wife still drinks out of a mug, using the term loosely, more like inhales from one. When I bring her coffee (yes, I bring her coffee, we alternate. She does Tuesday through Sundays, I do Monday), no sooner do I turn around then her arm is extended asking for seconds.

It’s no wonder I went into a full-fledged panic attach the night I emptied the dish washer and dropped my precious on the floor. The cap separated into three pieces. I thought for sure it was a goner, but I got it back together (thank god). Otherwise, I would have retired to bed devastated to face a morning of mugged coffee.

I’m also into volume, so that rules out espresso and/or the rocket fuel know as Cuban coffee. Geez. If you ever want to fly to the moon, find a small café window in Little Havana and get yourself one (or in my experience two) of those nuggets and you’ll understand what I’m talking about. I took a break from class one day with two of my friends (native Miamians who knew better) and we went for coffee. They each ordered “un café”. I took one look at that tiny paper cups and (see above regarding quantity), and ordered “dos”. Sure enough, in no time I was as jittery as a single hen at a fox festival.

I can’t reveal the brand of coffee I drink. We have great local roasters in town like Shenandoah Joe’s, Tragger Brothers and Mud House, so signaling one would not be fair. So I will name this mythical coffee brand Tartrucks. They are headquartered in the mythical city of Ceattle. There, that should get me off the hook.

So with thermos in hand and coffee in thermos, it’s time to make some scones. This inspiration came to me one morning when I went to make scones and saw that we had currants and butterscotch chips and not much else. Don't be put off by the amount of salt, it works beautifully with the sweetness of the butterscotch and currants.

3 c cups flour

1 T baking powder

1 T salt1 t baking soda

1/3 c brown sugar

6 oz butter

2/3 cup of buttermilk

1 egg

Here's the lineup:

There you have it. Clockwise from 11 you have the baking powder/ baking soda, brown sugar, butterscotch chips, currants, and butter all surrounding the flour.

Sift together the flour, salt, baking powder and soda. Then add the brown sugar. Cut the butter in until it resembles course sand

Add the butterscotch chips and currants.

Mix the egg and buttermilk together, than add to the mix. It should be a little wet, that's what we want. Flour your work surface liberally, your hands as well and lightly knead the dough a couple times.