Irish scones beside the fire

Apologies for the long between-posts.  There is always much to do, and when we had several very cold days, I spent hours wrestling with a cranky woodstove, taking lovely long hikes, picking up pine cones and fallen branches, courtesy of Hurricane Sandy, to add to my basket of kindling for that blue enameled beast that sits in the kitchen.  Early mornings, I run up the hill beside the house and greet the sun, and then?   I'm not quite sure what goes clattering through my head:  I think a lot.  As a sometime poet, I start with a random glance at a photograph of my grandmother-I-never-knew, and end up thinking about the Irish/Welsh/English threads that run on both sides of my family.

Today, instead of falling into a book, I made these charming, delicious scones again, happy to be mixing the dough, and, 25 minutes later, eating those hot, flaky bites, with puddles of melting butter, scented with lemon and nutmeg, juicy raisins, and a swift small sprinkling of sugar on top;  wondering if my grandmother-I-never-knew was as pleased with them as I am.  

To make about 8 scones:

Preheat oven to 375F.

Fit a baking sheet with foil or parchment.

6 T. cold butter, cut in small pieces

1/4 cup King Arthur whole wheat flour

1 1/2 cups King Arthur all-purpose flour

2 t. baking powder

pinch nutmeg, or 8 scrapings from a whole nutmeg

1/4 t. freshly grated lemon zest

pinch salt

1 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup raisins

Place flours and cold butter pieces into a mixer bowl and mix until incorporated. It should look crumbly.

Add the nutmeg, baking powder, lemon zest and salt.

Mix well.

Pour in the buttermilk and raisins and mix until it just holds together.

Using a normal size ice cream scoop, scoop batter out onto the baking sheet. This should make 8 scones. Sprinkle with a little sugar, if desired.

Place in oven for 25 minutes - they should be golden and craggy looking.

Remove to cool on cooling rack.

Serve with soft, sweet butter and marmalade or jam, as you wish. Delicious alone, too.