Cream Cheese And Herb Scones

Blackberry Pie Murder

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F., rack in the middle position.

## Ingredients

* 3 cups all-purpose flour ***(pack it down in the cup when you measure it)***
* 2 teaspoons cream of tartar ***(this is important)***
* 1 teaspoon baking powder
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 cup salted butter, softened to room temperature ***(1 stick, 4 ounces, 1/4 pound)***

* 8 ounces ***(by weight, not volume)*** whipped cream cheese at room temperature ***(I used Philadelphia brand, which is also 8 ounces by volume)***
* 6.5-ounce ***(by weight)*** package Boursin Cheese with Herbs at room temperature ***(one package)***
* 2 large eggs, beaten ***(just whip them up in a glass with a fork)***
* 1 cup sour cream

## Directions

* In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, cream of tartar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix thoroughly.
* Mix in bits of salted butter with two forks or a piecrust blender, just as you would for piecrust dough.

**Hannah's 1st Note: If you have a food processor, you can use it to do this: Cut 1/2 cup COLD salted butter into 8 chunks. Layer the chunks of butter with the dry ingredients in the bowl of the food processor. Process with the steel blade in an on-and-off motion until the mixture is the texture of cornmeal. Transfer the mixture to a mixing bowl and proceed to the next step.**

* Check your cheeses. If they haven't come up to room temperature, take them out of the packages, put them in a microwave-safe bowl, and soften them on HIGH for 20 seconds or so. Then take them out and add the beaten eggs and sour cream. Mix everything together thoroughly.
* Add the cheese, egg, and sour cream mixture to the dry ingredients. Stir the dough with a fork until everything is thoroughly combined. The resulting mixture should be roughly the consistency of cottage cheese.
* Use a large spoon to drop the biscuits onto an ungreased baking sheet. You can make 12 very large scones, 24 medium sized scones, or 4 to 5 dozen mini scones *baked in miniature cupcake tins sprayed with Pam or another nonstick cooking spray*. ***(You can bake one sheet at a time with this dough—it’ll be fine in the bowl for a half-hour or so while you wait for the first batch to bake.)***

**Hannah's 2nd Note: I line my baking sheets with parchment paper for easy removal.**

* If your scones look a little ragged around the edges, wet your fingers and shape them into rounds.
* Bake the scones at 425 degrees F. for 14 to 16 minutes for very large scones, 12 to 14 minutes for medium-sized scones, or 8 to 10 minutes for mini scones *baked in miniature cupcake tins sprayed with Pam or another nonstick cooking spray*. To test for doneness, touch them with the back of a spoon to see if they're "set" on top.

**Hannah's 3rd Note: DON’T OVERBAKE these scones. That will make them dry. My very large scones took a total of 15 minutes, the medium-sized scones took 14 minutes, and the mini scones took 9 minutes. The rule of thumb here is that if they look done, they are done.**

* Cool the scones for at least 5 minutes on the cookie sheets, and then remove them with a spatula. ***(If you used parchment paper, all you have to do is pull the paper off the baking sheet and peel off the scones.)*** The mini scones in the miniature cupcake tins should cool for at least 8 minutes before you remove them.
* Serve the scones in a towel-lined basket so that they stay warm.

Yield: Makes 12 very large scones, 24 medium-sized scones, or 4 to 5 dozen mini scones. These scones are simply delicious served with extra cream cheese, capers, and smoked salmon.

**Hannah's 4th Note: To serve mini scones as appetizers, simply cool them and cut them in half horizontally. Top them with more cream cheese, press on a few capers, and place a small slice of smoked salmon on top. You can either serve them that way, or spread a little more cream cheese on the top half and use it to make a mini sandwich that way Sally does.**