Briscoe House Scones
From the Elizabethan B&B
corrected for Rita Clifford:
3 cups sifted flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup margarine or butter: (1 1/2 sticks)
3/4 cup currants
1 cup buttermilk
 

Combine first 5 ingredients cut in butter, add currants, gradually adding buttermilk until dough clings together. Turn onto floured board knead a few times, roll out gently into 1/2 inch thickness, with round pastry cutter or glass cut in 2 inch diameter circles, place on cookie sheet, brush top with buttermilk. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes. Split and serve with butter and jam.

Another variation:

Cranberry Orange Scones
2 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons grated orange rind
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1 large egg
3/4 cup sour cream
3 tablespoons orange juice
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 teaspoons raw sugar
 

Combine flour, sugar, orange rind, baking powder and salt. Cut in butter till it resembles course meal, mix in dried cranberries. Beat egg slightly with fork, add sour cream and juice. Combine with dried ingredients. Gently roll out on floured board. Cut in triangles or circles. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with raw sugar. Bake 425 degrees about 12-18 minutes.

And now for the sticks. This recipe was found in "Baking with Julia" and almost exactly duplicated in "Cook's Illustrated." I found in it a strange procedure that I had not heard of before.

Hungarian Shortbread
4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 sticks (1 pound) unsalted
butter, room temperature
4 large egg yolks
2 cups granulated sugar
For assembling:
1 cup rhubarb jam, or your favorite preserves
Confectioner's sugar for dusting
 

Whisk the flour baking powder and salt together and set aside. In another bowl, beat the butter on high speed until it is pale and fluffy. Add the egg yolks and sugar and beat until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is light. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients mixing only until the ingredients are incorporated.

Chilling the dough

Turn the dough out into a work surface and cut in half. Shape each half into a ball and wrap each ball in plastic. Freeze the dough for about 30 minutes until firm. (You can freeze the dough, tightly wrapped for up to a month at this point. Thaw overnight, still wrapped, in the refrigerator)

Assembling and Baking

Center a rack in the oven and preheat it to 350 degrees. Remove one ball of dough from the freezer and, using the side of a box grated with the largest holes, grate the dough into a 9 by 12 inch baking pan. Pat the dough gently just to get it into the corners (don't press it down), spread with the jam. Grate the remaining dough over the jam and press it lightly to distribute it evenly. Bake for 40 minutes or until golden brown.

As soon as you remove the pan from the oven, dust the top of the shortbread heavily with confectioner's sugar. Cool to room temperature on a rack.

Cut the shortbread into bars when it is cool. Three inch squares or rectangles 1 1/2 inches by 3 inches make nice servings.

Storing

It can be wrapped airtight and frozen for up to a month. Thaw, still wrapped, at room temperature.