Petite Vanilla Bean Scones

Recipe: Petite Vanilla Bean Scones

Source: http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2010/04/petite-vanilla-bean-scones/

Time: 2 hours

Ease: 6

Taste: 10

Leftover Value: 10

Down the Drain or Keep in the Strainer: Keep it in the Strainer!

Scones.  Doesn't the word itself just make you feel more sophisticated?

I have two favorite scones so far in my life.  Panera Bread's orange scone and Starbuck's vanilla bean scone.

Lucky for me, Pioneer Woman posted a recipe that produced better than Starbuck's vanilla bean scone.

I guess I'll have to work on the orange one myself.

This recipe made me purchase two things.  

1. A Pastry Cutter

I made pecan scones this past Thanksgiving.  A pastry cutter was needed for that recipe also.  It's used to cut up cold butter while simultaneously mixing it in with a flour mixture.  I didn't have one then, so I used two knives.  The pastry cutter works so much better.  It is still the hardest part of making scones, but much easier to do with a pastry cutter than two knives.

2. Vanilla Beans

One day, I'm going to make my own vanilla extract.  This is where I'll go to get my vanilla beans.  

Using vanilla beans was such a new experience for me in baking.  It seems scary and intimidating because it involves slicing down the middle of the bean.  But really is was easy and exciting because you get to dig out the delightful vanilla bean specks inside.

My only error was making my scones a little too big to be defined as "petite".  They look okay from this view, but most of them are really double the size that they should be.

The scones left a crazy mess of flour, dough, vanilla beans, and cookware.

But they were so worth it.  They aren't overly dry as some scones tend to be.  The icing is divine and I have a feeling I'll be using it for more than just scones.