Utah Scones with Honey Butter & Raspberries

So my dad is a really interesting guy. And I don’t mean that in semi-snide jerkfaced way, I mean that he is a really interesting guy. Anyone who knows him (does anyone know my dad? Besides Sara and my one sister who reads the blog?) knows that he is an interesting guy. He is the world’s most cautious man (we were not allowed to have a trampoline, which may have scarred me for life), someone who perpetually drives 15 miles under the speed limit (at least), no matter what it is, but he participates in all sorts of dangerous or potentially dangerous activities like motorcycling and skiing and backpacking and white water rafting. In addition, he has a couple of terrible puns that he re-uses at every opportunity (“I never Metamucil I didn’t like!” or one involving horticulture, which was Sara’s field of study so he brings it up a lot, but it’s kind of PG-13. So you might have to use your imagination.) Are you getting a feel for him?

One thing about my dad is that he’s not a particularly social guy. He doesn’t do small-talk (not even with his kids–in fact, the running joke is that two minutes into any conversation, he’ll say, “I’ve got Alan Stephens [his colleague] on the other line, I’ve gotta go.”) and he was not friendly to boys I dated in high school, which was horrifically embarrassing at the time.

But.

When he throws a party, he goes all out. Even if it’s for strangers.

For as long as I can remember, every 4th of July while I was growing up, we had a neighborhood breakfast in the park and my dad cooked scones. That was his thing. This whole party was thing, which was quite a feat for a semi-grumpy pun-maker who hates holidays.

Now. Some of you may be wondering how in the world he made scones for the whole neighborhood in the park because scones are crumbly, slightly-sweet biscuits baked in an oven.

Well. In Utah (and apparently a few other select geographical regions based very loosely on some fairly inaccurate Instagram science), scones are pieces of fried bread dough served with whatever you want, but really, butter, honey (or honey butter), or raspberry jam. Or if you’re me, you spread on some honey butter and then you smoosh a small handful of raspberries down into the honey butter and it’s more delicious than just about anything you can imagine.

So basically, Utah scones are beignets. Sopapillas. Fry bread. Doughnuts. Whatever.

When I discovered these were not the scones other people were familiar with, I was embarrassed and disillusioned. Life got hard. In a my-parents-lied-to-me-about-baked-goods kind of way.

So you can really use any dough that’s been enriched with some kind of fat (butter…oil…egg yolks). We actually have a recipe for sopapillas in our first book (I think…I don’t actually have my books with my this second) and we already have a recipe for beignets here. And you could use either one of those doughs, among the zillions (not really) of other yeast doughs we have on the blog. But I wanted to experiment with something (I’m tweaking my World’s Best Dinner Roll recipe) and it was a huge success. Not that you can go wrong with fried dough slathered in honey and butter, right?

To get started, dissolve the yeast and 1 tablespoon sugar in warm water.

Let stand about 10 minutes or until very bubbly and frothy.

In the bowl of a stand or heavy-duty mixture, mix 2 cups of buttermilk, some sugar, melted butter, vegetable oil,

and salt

until completely dissolved. Add baking powder and 3 cups of flour to the milk mixture and beat on low for 30 seconds, scraping sides of bowl constantly.

Add yeast mixture and beat on high for 3 minutes.

Add the eggs and mix until completely combined. then stir in as much remaining flour as needed to make a soft dough. This dough should be very soft–it will be coming away from the sides of the bowl, but it will still stick to your finger when you touch it. Place the bowl in a warm place and cover with a clean towel; allow to rise 1 hour or is doubled in bulk.

When the dough has risen, lightly sprinkle a large, clean work surface with flour.

Punch down the dough and then roll it to about 1/4″ thick. Using a sharp knife or a pizza wheel, cut the dough into equal rectangles.

Separate the dough pieces so they have enough room to rise. Cover with a clean cloth.

In a large, heavy pan (I use a 7.5 quart Le Creuset), heat about 2-3 inches of peanut or other high smoke point oil over medium heat until it reaches 350-360 degrees (use a candy thermometer). When hot, add a few dough pieces and cook until golden brown on one side, then flip and cook the other side. When puffy and golden, remove from oil and drain on a paper towel. Repeat with remaining dough pieces.

Serve immediately smeared with honey butter

with a handful of raspberries pressed into the honey butter.

Makes about 24 scones.