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Banana Scones

Flaky and moist brown butter banana scones.
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Chill Time 1 hour
Servings 8 small scones

Ingredients

  • ⅔ cup walnuts
  • 113 g or ½ cup unsalted butter
  • 345 g or 2 ½ cups plus 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ tsp fine sea salt
  • 65 g or ⅓ cup brown sugar
  • 1 ½ tsp cinnamon
  • 1 very ripe medium or small sized banana
  • 120 g or ½ cup heavy cream
  • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Instructions

Toast the nuts

  • Preheat the oven to 350 F.  Spread the nuts on a baking tray and toast for 5 minutes, until the nuts are fragrant. Set aside to cool.

Brown the butter

  • Set the butter in a small frying pan and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, as it melts then sputters, then begins to foam. You’ll see bits of brown drop to the bottom, once all of the bits have turned a medium brown and the butter is mostly silent, transfer to a heatproof bowl and chill until completely solid.

Make the dough

  • Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, sugar and cinnamon.
  • Chop the cold butter with a knife into small bits and add it to the dry ingredients. Using a pastry knife, cut it into the flour until you have small, dime or black bean sized bits of butter. Use your fingers to rub the mixture between your fingers and thumbs to ensure there’s no giant bits of butter left.
  • Mash the banana with a fork and add it to the bowl. Whisk together the vanilla and heavy cream and pour them into the bowl. Add the nuts if using. Use a rubber spatula to stir the dough then switch to using your hands.
  • We want to gather the dough together in a ball without ‘kneading’ it so scoop the dough from the sides of the bowl and fold them over onto the center, squeezing gently to encourage it to adhere. (see the video for visual guidance) Keep doing this until the dough comes together in a shaggy ball.
  • On a floured surface press or roll the dough into a 9x7” ish rectangle then fold it over itself. Repeat. Press the dough into a circle that’s about  1 inch thickness. Slice the dough into 8 wedges.
  • Set the scones on a small baking tray (baking them close together helps them rise higher) and freeze for an hour. If you’d like to keep them longer in the freezer, transfer them to an airtight container.
  • Preheat the oven to 375 F. If you are doing a sugar topping, brush the scones with heavy cream and sprinkle with sugar.
  • Bake the scones for about 18-20 minutes, until dark golden on the edges and you can’t spot any ‘doughy’ bits in the center.
  • If you’ll be glazing the scones, wait until they are completely cool.

Video