Strawberry Almond Scones

I really love scones.

I never did before, because they were always so dry. Not sure why.
Is it because they sit around in the coffee shop for more than 6 hours? Probably.

I freeze my scones almost immediately.
We eat the first few warm with coffee, then I take them out of the freezer as needed, so they are always fresh and delicious.

I love icing on my scones. Of course you can sprinkle w/ some raw sugar instead, but icing is so pretty and the sliced almonds adhere to the tops to make a fancier scone.

It's not quite strawberry season here yet, don't worry, when it is, I will bombard you with a ton of strawberry recipes.

I found these nice Florida strawberries and couldn't wait.

These are delicious.

Strawberry Almond Scones:

2 1/2 cups of flour
1 tbsp baking powder
pinch of salt
1 stick (1/2 cup) very cold butter (or frozen)
3/4 cup sugar
zest of a lemon
1/4 cup sliced almonds
3/4 cup of sour cream or buttermilk
1 egg
1/2 tsp almond extract
a bunch of strawberries, cut into small chunks
whole milk for brushing the tops
handful of sliced almonds for the tops
turbinado sugar for the tops or 1 cup confectioners sugar w/ a tbsp milk for icing

Mix the flour, baking powder and salt into a big bowl.

Cut your butter into the mix, and incorporate with your hands (I find it easiest to grate the stick of cold butter w/ a cheese grater, using the big holes). It will be a bit messy.

Add in the rest of the ingredients, adding in the berries last. Again, using wet hands is the best way to make scone batter, though a bit of a mess.

Form a ball of dough and place it on a parchment lined baking sheet. Flatten it down to a circle.

With a sharp knife, cut into 8 pieces. Brush with some milk and sprinkle w/ raw sugar (unless you are going to ice them).

Bake in a 400F oven for 20 minutes. I check them after the 15 minute mark, and make deeper cuts so they come apart easier when done baking.

If you are going to ice them, then whisk up the confectioner's sugar w/ the tbsp of milk.
While the scones are warm, drizzle the icing over the tops and sprinkle w/ some sliced almonds.

Let completely cool so the icing hardens.

Eat right away, or freeze them for freshest scones.

Enjoy!