Peach Nutmeg Scones

When Di at Di's Kitchen Notebook tweeted that she'd made peach nutmeg scones, several of us jumped at the chance to try the delicious sounding recipe she was baking from. Compliments of the King Arthur Flour website, these light, flaky scones use fresh peaches and freshly ground nutmeg to make a powerfully yummy pastry. I had worried that fresh peaches would be too wet, but scone doughs like to be wet and shaggy,and this one is no exception. The flavor of the fresh peaches comes through clearly.

If you aren't a nutmeg fan feel free to substitute cinnamon (and why not toss in some blueberries while you're at it?) I mixed this in the stand mixer as I do with all scones. I've had good success with freezing scones and saving them to bake another day (well wrapped, of course). Don't bother defrosting them, just brush them with the melted butter and sprinkle with sugar before baking. Give them an extra 3-5 minutes in the oven if baking from the freezer.

Peach Nutmeg Scones (adapted from King Arthur Flour)
Printable recipe
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 tablespoon baking powder
6 tablespoons cold butter, cut into pieces
2 eggs, beaten
1/3 cup vanilla yogurt
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 cup diced peaches (about one good-sized peach)
2 tablespoons melted butter
2 tablespoons granulated sugar

Preheat the oven to 375°F. In the bowl of a stand mixer, sift the flour, salt, sugar, nutmeg, and baking powder together. Toss the butter into the dry ingredients, turn the mixer on low, and blend until most of the butter is the size of peas. Remove mixing bowl from the mixer.

Mix the eggs, yogurt, and almond extract. Stir this into the dry ingredients with a spatula. Add the peaches and stir just until mixed.

Liberally flour the counter and your hands. Put the dough on the counter and pat it into a 1-inch-thick rectangle. Cut into 10 triangular scones or use a 2 1/2" round cutter to make smaller scones.

Place scones on a sheet of parchment paper on a cookie sheet. Brush with the melted butter and sprinkle with the sugar. Bake for 20 minutes, or until nicely browned and a cake tester inserted into a scone comes out dry. Yield: Ten triangular scones scones or 18 round ones.