The Scottish love a good competition and this summer all through the U.S., Scottish Americans and those that love them or have been inspired by Outlander will go to Highland Scottish Games and Gathering of the Clans.

There will be competitions in piping, drumming, pipping and drumming, caber tossing, hammer throwing, sheath throwing, etc.  Border collies will herd sheep and people will drink beer and go to scotch tastings where they will learn about single malt whiskey and the Scottish peat and “terroir” that makes Scotch Scotch.  There also will be fair scones.

Returning home from the local Highland Scottish Games with marching men in kilts still in my head, something else also emerged, a question, what are Scottish scones really like? After many trials, the best Scottish scone recipe I found, is not 100% Scottish but a Scottish American scone that incorporates the sweetness that Americans seem to love.

Scottish American Scones

Adapted from “World’s Best Scones! From Scotland to the Savoy to the U.S.”

Ingredients:

         1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

·         4 teaspoons baking powder

·         1/4 cup white sugar

·         1/8 teaspoon salt

·         5 tablespoons unsalted butter

·         1/2 cup dried currants or raisins

·         1/2 cup milk, 2%, or what milk you like

·         1/4 cup sour cream

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

2. Sift dry ingredients into a large bowl.
3. Using a pastry blender, cut in butter until it is in pea-sized lumps.
4. Stir in the currants.
5. Mix together 1/2 cup milk and sour cream in a measuring cup. Pour into the dry ingredients all at once and gently combine until blended but do not overwork the dough, or scones will become stones, not scones.
6. Next pat dough into balls (2 to 3 inches depending on size you want but make them uniform). Place on greased baking sheet or baking sheet with parchment paper and flatten slight. Arrange so that the scones slightly touch each other. Let them rest for about 10 minutes.
7. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven, until the tops are golden brown

The result is a sweet fluffy scone that really can stand on its own without anything, or dress up to taste with butter, jam, clotted cream, etc.  Enjoy!