PB&J Scones

I’m not even gonna go into detail about this recipe. You’re already with me on this one, I can feel it. I won’t even go into how I make the best scones on the planet. No, I’ll just give you the recipe and be on my merry way. I wont even mention how these taste so very much like those delicious peanut butter sandwich Girl Scout Cookies…you know, the ones that used to be called Do-si-do’s? No, I won’t even go into all of that time-wastin’.

Proud of me for being so modest? Yeah, me too.

*PB&J Scones

-In the bowl of your food processor, add 3 cups of all purpose flour (whole wheat pastry flour is a wonderful, high fiber substitute that I like to use), 3/4 cup of sugar, a good pinch of kosher salt and 1 TB baking powder. Pulse to mix.
-Add 1 1/2 sticks of cold, unsalted butter that you’ve cut into cubes and 1/2 cup of creamy peanut butter*. Turn the food processor on and mix until the butter has mixed into the dry ingredients. It should look like wet sand now.
-With the mixer on, slowly pour in some cold milk, half and half or cream (probably about 1/2 cup total) until your dough is moistened and will come together when you squeeze it with your fingers. Don’t let it get too moist that it becomes one big wet dough ball.
-Dump your dough onto a floured surface. Take 3 tsp of your favorite fruit preserves** (I used strawberry All Fruit Spread) and hand mix it into the dough. Don’t worry about getting it fully incorporated, you want it to be a little marbled.
-Shape the dough into a fat disk and cut into 8ths, like you would a pie. Place each triangle onto an ungreased cookie sheet and bake in a preheated 375 degree oven, on the top rack, for about 17 minutes, or until they become golden brown on the top and edges and have a firm-to-the-touch feel to them.
-Cool on the sheet for about 10 minutes, then finish cooling on a rack until completely cool. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for a couple days or freeze, well wrapped, for a couple months.
-Enjoy!!

(*if you are using natural, unsweetened peanut butter, then I recommend increasing the sugar content to 1 cup)
(**I like using preserves instead of a jam or jelly because I like the fruit pieces throughout the scone. Chopping up some sweetened, dried strawberries would be a wonderful substitute.  The jelly part of this recipe isn’t overpowering at all, you just get the essence of it and the occasional fruit piece, which I really love.  You could add a handful of raisins or cranberries, or even a drizzle of honey over the baked scones if you prefer that instead.)

(For a list of my other scone recipes, check out my recipe post for Pumpkin Brown Sugar Scones and you will find links to my other variations there)