When it rains, it pours

Are you familiar with the saying, “when it rains, it pours?”  It means when a bad thing happens and then suddenly more bad things happen right after each other or all at the same time.  I’m sure there are many variations of this phrase around the world.  And then once it pours, all you can do is throw your hands up in the air in surrender and wonder, what’s next?  Well, that was my family’s week.

So, one day after I dropped my son at school, I did something I knew would help get my mind off everything that’s going on for just a little while to regain some sanity.  I baked.  I pulled out my tried and true basic scone recipe and went to work.

Cold cubed butter is added to the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar mixture.

Believe it or not, my least favorite part about making scones is putting my hands in the butter and flour mixture because, I admit, I have small weak hands.  They get so tired working the butter into the dry ingredients.  However, I’ve learned it’s really the best way to achieve the consistency I prefer.  I’ve tried using a pastry cutter and that works well if the recipe calls for an entire stick of butter, but not so much when the recipe calls for only 2-3 tablespoons.  I’ve tried using a food processor, but that ended up making the butter too fine. You may have better luck using this method because it really would make this step easier. But why is this so important? When the scones are baking, the butter creates little pockets of air to give you nice fluffy scones.  Without those little pockets, I literally made hockey puck scones.

This is my most used scone cutter, about 6cm.

Over the years, the thickness I pressed or rolled out the dough increased.  I was so frustrated when I couldn’t consistently bake tall beautiful scones. I watched countless videos and reviewed a ton of recipes. I knew I wasn’t overworking the dough, twisting the scone cutter or letting the egg wash or milk/cream glaze drip down the sides of the scones before baking. Then, it just hit me one day that I wasn’t rolling out the dough thick enough.  I felt rather foolish for something so simple.  But that’s why it’s called experience, right?  The more you do, the more you learn.

A scone ready to be smothered in yummy goodness.

I made stiff cream, opened a new jar of my favorite strawberry jam and set it out with some lemon curd.  I made myself sit down at the table with the fruits of my labor and a fresh pot of my favorite tea.  Since having kids, I have a terrible habit of standing and eating when I’m on my own.  But I wanted this to be my time.  The dog would need to wait a little bit longer for her walk.

Yes, they tasted as good as they looked!

After my first bite of scone and sip of hot, milky tea, I could feel the pressure slowly melt from my shoulders.  Did I feel a little guilty indulging while things around me were in disarray?  Maybe I did a little bit, but I knew it was okay.  There’s only so much I could do and worrying wasn’t going to miraculously make things better.  I say, take advantage of every moment you have to do something you enjoy, no matter how small it may be.  It may sound cliché, but life is too short.  Bad things happen.  It just doesn’t mean it has to take me down without a fight - and a good cup of tea.