pear, cardamom and toasted oat scones

Yesterday was awful. I am heartsick for the victims, and their loved ones, from the tragic shooting in Las Vegas. While I have not considered this space one in which to discuss the particulars of such a tragedy, it also feels wrong to not acknowledge it. I do not have the right words to share but I do know that we must do better. Personally, I am praying, reading, learning and talking about what that might look like, what I can do. In the meantime, I wish I could give us all a big hug and gather in my kitchen and feed you scones.

This recipe is a riff on the original (and my all-time favorite) scone recipe, here. The version below actually started out it's life as a peach scone but I couldn't get it quite right. The peaches were so juicy that the moisture overwhelmed the mixture. I then had the idea to add in oats, to sort of help soak it all up, but never circled back to make it while the peaches were still ripe. Peaches are almost old news around here and so, with fall temperatures, we are on to pears.

(Can I confess I am getting a little worried for myself and winter? It has been 19 years since I experienced an actual winter. The daily highs now are in the low 60s, with evening temperatures in the high 30s. I am not sure what I am going to do when it drops another 30 degrees. The other day I looked at a pair of sandals discarded by the front door and thought "well, time to put those away" which was a weird thought because in SoCal, my wardrobe was basically year-round. Sure, there would be a couple weeks of cool temps but generally the weather would bounce back to 70s, so summer shoes etc were never really put away. I am all excited to have four seasons again, but man, sh#t is getting real.)

Last week my family came to visit and I took them to one of my favorite local spots, The Daily Bread & Mercantile. Everything they sell is from scratch and their sandwiches, on homemade bread, are crazy good. In addition to our lunch order, my mom, younger sister, and Josh and I all shared a warmed up pear and cardamom scone, which we promptly devoured and then ordered a second one. I have no shame when it comes to baked goods. The combination of pear and cardamom was perfect and reminded me that I had a scone recipe to work on. The addition of oats lends a lovely nutty chewiness to the scone texture. I also love that these are not overly sweet, which I think makes them good for breakfast. If I were to serve them for an afternoon tea, I might consider a light powder sugar glaze to up their pastry factor.

The original scone recipe calls for 2/3 cup half-n-half. I rarely have half-in-half in my house and so, in a liquid measuring cup, I pour 1/2 cup of heavy cream and then add milk until it measures up to the 2/3 cup line (basically adding 1/6 cup of milk to 1/2 cup heavy cream). You are welcome to use the 2/3 cup half-in-half or if, like me, you have heavy cream in the house, thin it out with a bit of milk.

For the idea to toast the oats, I am indebted to Julia Turshen's wonderful cookbook, Small Victories. It may be a bit fiddly of a step, but adds another element of flavor and is really is not much of an effort: I think I unloaded the dishwasher while the oats toasted in the oven.

I hope you will make and share these with someone you love; that we can be comforted and be of comfort to others too.

pear, cardamom and toasted oat scones

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup quick rolled oats, toasted (directions below)
5 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground caradmom
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and large cubed
2/3 cup half-n-half OR 1/2 cup heavy cream + 1/6 cup milk = 2/3 cup (see note above)
3/4 cup cubed fresh ripe pear (about 1 medium sized pear)

topping
1 tablespoon half-in-half or heavy cream
1 tablespoon turbinado sugar (you can easily substitute regular white sugar too)

1) Preheat oven to 350. Spread the oats in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet and bake in oven, stirring occasionally, for about 5 to 8 minutes. Remove oats from oven and increase oven temp to 425 (425 is the temp to bake the scones at).

2) In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, oats, sugar, baking powder, cardamom and salt.

3) Cut in butter with a pastry blender or two knives until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

3) Stir in 2/3 cup half-and-half (or thinned heavy cream) until just moistened. Gently fold in pears.

4) On a lightly floured surface, knead dough gently, 5 to 10 times. Pat into a 1 inch thick round. Cut into 8 wedges. Place on a baking sheet, lined with parchment paper, 2 inches apart. You'll want to do this step rather quickly, as the pears will start to release their juices and the dough will become increasingly sticky. (ie not a good time to stop and check instagram.) In the original scone recipe, you can put in the dough in the fridge overnight. I don't think I would recommend doing that with this version as I believe the pears would break down too much.

5) Brush tops of the scone wedges with remaining tablespoon half-and-half (or heavy cream) and sprinkle with tablespoon of turbinado sugar. Bake until golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack.