Imagine a scone so moist and  flavorful you may choose to eat it plain. Sally Swafford's Seattle Scone Girl Scone Mix enables scone lovers to enjoy the ultimate scone which she grew up with, thanks to her Grandma Ruthie.. Using her grandmother's amazing 100-year-old Irish scone recipe, Sally has re-created these scones, which not surprisingly are very popular in her corner of the northwest. 
Sally says:  "It wasn't until I was grown that I realized my grandmother's scones were totally unique to her. Some scones can be dry and flavorless - my grandmother's are like a burst of Ireland in your mouth; complex, lush, comforting, and delightful all at the same time. She was a magical lady who really knew how to bring out the best in life. Her scones were no exception."
Some of Sally's recipes can be found at the Fair Scones mail-order website, http://www.FairScones.com/ which offers her scone mix.

Of course, our family also tried these with Rose Hips Preserves, the ultimate among jam aficionados in our household.  But lemon curd and clotted cream are the traditional accompaniments if you choose to go beyond sampling the scones plain.  Lemon Curd is available from lots of gourmet spots, including Williams-Sonoma's stores.

Sally's recipe for clotted cream:

Gently heat unpasteurized milk until a layer of cream forms on the surface. After cooling down, surface cream is removed and used as a spread for scones-hence the naming of the traditional "cream tea."   If you can  find Devonshire Cream at your favorite gourmet market, usually in the deli department, you are in luck  If not, the following is a simple substitute, which I call "Mock Clotted Cream.

To make Mock (Devonshire) Clotted Cream
1/2 cup heavy (sweet) cream
1/4 cup sour cream.
Whip the sweet cream until stiff.  Rapidly add the sour cream to the whipped cream, beating it in thoroughly but quickly.  Place cream mixture in a serving bowl and chill until ready to serve.  Use as a butter substitute on scones with jam or lemon curd.

Scones are a great, and simple, addition to a weekend breakfast, but do not overlook them as a tasty post-skiing, or, dare I suggest, teatime, snack.  

If you simply must convince yourself that buying the mix from Sally makes lots of sense, try making a batch from scratch yourself first, just for comparison.  The following is an acceptably moist recipe for scones:

2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
3 1/2 tablespoons butter 
1/2 cup lowfat lemon yogurt 
2 eggs, separated 
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel 
2 tablespoons heavy cream

Preheat oven to 425° F. Stir together flour, salt, sugar and baking powder. Using a pastry blender, cut butter into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs. Stir together the yogurt, egg yolks, and lemon peel. Add this mixture to the flour mixture and stir lightly. Add cream, one tablespoon at a time until dough begins to clump together.
Gather dough on a lightly floured surface and knead three or four times until it holds together. Do not overwork the dough. Pat into a rectangle about 1 inch thick and cut with a 2-inch round biscuit cutter. Place scones on an ungreased cookie sheet.
Using a pastry brush, brush tops with beaten egg whites. Bake in middle of oven for 10 minutes or until light brown. Serve warm or cold with butter and jam or lemon curd and clotted cream. 
Yield:  Makes 12 to 14 scones.

You can find the above recipe(s) by tapping here on the Home Cookin' index.

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