I am on the tail end of my moment with scones and just starting my next phase of tarragon. So this is perfect, also because rhubarb – I love you. Right before spring started we finally watched Sherlock and then I finally watched The Great British Baking Show, so you could say I have British treats on my mind. There were a couple of weeks where I was making scones on Sunday and then putting them in the freezer so that Monday morning I would just turn the oven on and pop in a scones or two and wait. It was a great way to start the week. It is starting to get hot, air conditioners have been put in the windows, so this might be my last scone Monday. Sometimes I get the urge to not turn on the oven all summer, but maybe we will get some cooler rainy days too because I don’t think I can last without an oven.
Tarragon has a licorice flavor and in Armenia (where my other half has origins) they drink tarragon soda. It’s actually great for digestion, but don’t drink too much of it! I tried making some tarragon soda recently and it was delicious! Here I think it tastes really nice with the tanginess of the rhubarb and the nuttiness of the spelt.
Rhubarb Tarragon Spelt Scones
3 stalks of rhubarb, cut into 1 inch chunks
1/4 cup + 3 tbsp sugar
1 1/2 cup unbleached all purpose flour
1 cup spelt flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
8 tbsp unsalted butter, cold and cut into small pieces
2 tbsp chopped tarragon
2/3 – 3/4 cup heavy cream
– Toss the rhubarb in the 3 tbsp of sugar and set aside.
– Mix the flours with salt, sugar and baking powder. Mix the butter into the flour mixture and using a pastry cutter cut the butter until little pea size pieces form. Mix the rhubarb and tarragon gently. Slowly add the cream, do 2/3 and then add more as needed until you have a dough. Use your hands to combine but don’t knead too much, just until formed together.
– Pre-heat your oven to 425° F if making now.
– Divide the dough into two pieces and make a disc with each one. Cut each disc into 4-6 triangles. Arrange the pieces on a baking tray lined with parchment paper or freeze them separately to bake them later.
– If not frozen already, freeze them for 10 minutes on the tray. Bake about 20 minutes until starting to brown a bit.
– You can freeze them for a week or two, watch the baking time, it might need to be longer.
-jrad
Babushka Training 