Why are these scones different from all other scones?

All other scones are crumbly and flaky, whereas these scones are moist and soft.  All other scones contain heaps and heaps of butter, whereas these scones only use 2 tablespoons.  And all other scones require intense preparations, whereas these can be made start-to-finish in under 20 minutes.

Truly, these scones perplex us.  We made them for the first time Saturday, and thought we did something wrong when the recipe produced these warm, chewy little scones.  But after reproducing them again yesterday, we now believe that they turned out precisely as intended — and we love them just as they are.

The recipe comes from a book that we’ve already touted as incredible: Bill’s Food.  His recipe is for plain simple scones, and we spruced them up on our second attempt with a pinch of cinnamon and a perfectly crunchy cinnamon sugar layer on top.

Definitely make these, but don’t expect your typical scone out of them.  They’re so much better than that.

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups flour
2 tbsp powdered sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 pinch salt
1 tsp cinnamon (plus an additional 1 tsp for optional cinnamon-sugar topping)
1 tsp granulated sugar (for optional cinnamon-sugar topping)
1 cup milk (we used skim)
2 tbsp butter, softened (plus additional for greasing and optional topping)

Instructions:
Pre-heat oven to 425.  Combine flour, powdered sugar, baking powder, salt, and 1 tsp cinnamon in a large bowl.  Pour milk into mixture, and stir together with a fork.  Add softened butter, and knead the butter gently into the dough with your hands until dough is soft (add more flour if it’s too sticky).  Place dough on a floured surface, and flatten until it is a 1 1/2-inch disk.  Use a glass to cut out rounds, and place them on a greased baking sheet.  If you want, you can soften a bit more butter, brush it over the rounds, and sprinkle with a mixture of 1 tsp cinnamon and 1 tsp sugar.  Bake for about 10 minutes, until lightly golden.  Serve with anything, especially blueberry jam.