These scones are great to use up that cup of sourdough starter/discard you have on hand. You can bake the scones in the regular oven (350 degrees for about 15 minutes), but I like to use the air fryer on hot summer days. The scones come out nicely browned, a bit crispy on the exteriors, and nice and moist in the centers. The scones are sweet with plenty of butterscotch chips, and the sourdough starter/discard gives the scones a slightly yeasty taste, which provides incredible flavor. The pecans provide additional nutty sweetness, with the nuts on top toasting up for a nice crunch. I sometimes bake a few scones and stash the rest of the dough in the refrigerator for another day. Does that work with the sourdough? Yes, it does for me, and the taste of the scones improves, in my view, with a few days rest in a cold frig for the dough. These simple-to-make scones are great for breakfast, snacks, tea time, or even for dessert with a cup of coffee or tea. Enjoy!
Sourdough Butterscotch Pecan Scones -- Makes about 12
1 cup of flour (I use half whole wheat)
1 tablespoon of dried milk powder
1/3 cup of sugar
2 teaspoons of baking powder
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
1 tablespoon of butter
4 tablespoons of canola oil
1 cup of sourdough starter/discard
1/2 cup of butterscotch chips
1/4 - 1/3 cup of broken/chopped pecans
In a large bowl mix together the cup of flour, dried milk, sugar, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Cut in the butter with a fork, then mix in the canola oil to form crumbs (you may get more of a clump as you mix--that's fine, don't worry about it). Stir in the cup of sourdough starter/discard until combined. Stir in the butterscotch chips and nuts. The dough will look and feel like cookie dough. Cut pieces of baking parchment to fit your air fryer basket and drop several 1 1/2 tablespoon mounds of dough on each piece of parchment. Slightly flatten/shape the dough with your fingers into rough rounds, if you like. Put a dough-topped piece of parchment in the air fryer basket, put the basket in the air fryer, and air fry the scones at 320 degrees for about 10 minutes or until firm to the touch and a deep golden brown. Remove the scones from the air fryer basket to cool and repeat the cooking process with the remaining dough (or stash some of the dough in a sealed container in the refrigerator to bake another day, if you prefer).
