The mother of Mother’s Day scones

They say that necessity is the mother of invention. I’d say that time constraints are involved in birthing novel solutions, too. Take, for instance, my Strawberry Vanilla Scones. These seasoned-perfectly-for-spring, flaky, triangles of goodness are the outcome of a need and a scarcity of time. Although they were created out of desperation, they have quickly become our favorite variation of my tried-and-true scone recipe.

On the eve of a special event in our family, we decided that we needed a celebratory breakfast. I’m all for kicking an important day off with something special, but this decision was made too late for a trip to the store. Scones to the rescue! They make for the ideal special breakfast baked good because they are at their best when prepared ahead of time – making the morning meal easy. Set in the fridge overnight, the gluten in the dough relaxes, resulting in the best texture and fullest rise when baked. Plus, the basic scone recipe is ideal for mixing in whatever add-ins you have on hand (blackberries in the summer, ginger and cranberries at Christmas or chocolate chips year-round).

With the plan in place, it was off to the kitchen to find ingredients. We had strawberries – fabulous! I’d amp up the vanilla extract in the recipe because everyone knows strawberries and vanilla are besties. Then to the baking cupboard, where, gasp, I realized I didn’t have enough all-purpose flour. I reached for the almond flour – which can be used as a 1:1 substitution for all-purpose flour. The results were delicious. The addition of almond flour made for a nice crumbly scone – our preferred texture. A new favorite was born.

When considering what to do for this year’s Mother’s Day, I thought instantly of these scones. I’m a mom to teens now, which means they have more confidence in the kitchen but also less time at home. We’ll mix up a batch of the scones the night before and bake them in the morning. They’ll be ready to go for breakfast in or out of bed on Mother’s Day.

Add some fresh fruit and a mug of Mom’s favorite hot beverage, and I’m certain your mother will be as thrilled with the results as we are.

Strawberry Vanilla Scones

• 1 cup flour, plus some for kneading
• 1 cup almond flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 cup frozen, unsalted butter, grated
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 egg, slightly beaten
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup fresh, hulled sliced strawberries

Prepare dough the day before Mother’s Day. Frozen butter is important. Be sure to freeze yours before you make the dough.

Remove butter from freezer and grate with box grater. Place grated butter in refrigerator until ready to use.

In large bowl, whisk together flours, sugar, salt and baking powder. When mixed, add butter and, using your hands, gently incorporate until mixture resembles largish bread crumbs.

In separate bowl, mix together egg, vanilla and sour cream.

Fold gently into flour mixture. Once incorporated, gently fold in strawberry slices. (Tip: Use egg slicer to cut hulled strawberries into thin slices.)

Pour dough onto floured surface. Knead one or two times, being careful not to over-knead. Form dough into roughly 8-inch disk. Score 8 cuts in dough, wrap in parchment paper or plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

The next day, preheat oven to 400 F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Cut dough into 8 scones, placing 2 inches apart on baking sheet. Brush small amount of milk on each scone and sprinkle with sparkling pink sugar, if you’d like.

Bake 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

(written for the Los Altos Town Crier)