Makes 12 scones
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 2½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1½ sticks (3/4 cup or 6 oz.) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 cup chopped ramps
- 1 cup shredded cheddar (the sharper the better)
Directions
Position the oven racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat the oven to 425°F. In a medium bowl, stir the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together with a fork. Add the cold butter pieces and, using your fingertips (the first choice), a pastry blender, or two knives, work the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. It’s OK if some largish pieces of butter remain – they’ll add to the scones’ flakiness.
Add buttermilk, ramps and cheddar and mix with the fork only until the ingredients are just moistened – you’ll have a soft dough with a rough look. (If the dough looks dry, add another tablespoon of buttermilk.)
Gather the dough into a ball, pressing it gently so that it holds together, turn it out onto a lightly floured work surface, and knead it very briefly – a dozen turns should do it. Cut the dough in half. Roll each piece of the dough into a ½-inch-thick circle that is about 7 inches across. Cut into six triangles.
Bake the scones for 10 to 12 minutes, until both the tops and bottoms are golden. Transfer the scones to a rack to cool slightly. These are best served warm but are just fine at room temperature.
If you’re not going to eat the scones the day they are made, wrap them airtight and freeze; they’ll stay fresh for a month. To serve, defrost the scones at room temperature in their wrappers, then unwrap and reheat on a baking sheet for 5 minutes in a 350°F oven.