You wake up to a wintery landscape, snow blowing in delicate flakes, adding to the two inches that has already fallen on the railings of your balcony and weighed down your plant’s new leaves that last week’s 65-degree temperatures coaxed unseasonably into life.

Scones. That’s the thing for today. It’s too blustery for walking, and there is no need to go anywhere, so you pile up books and paper and pens and lists of movies (or whatever you really like when you’re hunkering down), and you throw together scones, ready in 30 minutes (but better after cooling if you can wait that long).

When you realize you don’t have an egg, you don’t panic. You substitute a tablespoon of vegetable oil, a tablespoon of water, and a few splashes of cream. And it all turns out just fine.

Lemon, Ginger, and Walnut Scones

Ingredients

2 cups gluten-free all-purpose flour (or regular AP flour, but don’t knead too much)

1/3 cup sugar

1 ½ tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. salt

½ tsp. baking soda

8 T. butter, frozen and grated

½ cup sour cream or yogurt

1 egg, beaten

1/4 cup each chopped walnuts and chopped crystallized ginger

Zest of one lemon

Turbinado sugar for topping

Method:

Make sure your butter is frozen before you start.

Preheat oven to 400⁰.

In a medium bowl (big enough to get your hands in) mix together dry ingredients. Grate butter into dry ingredients, and quickly rub flour into butter until the mixture resembles cornmeal (this can also be done in a food processor).  Add chopped walnuts and ginger and stir to combine.

If you are using sour cream, mix egg and sour cream together in a small bowl. Stir this mixture into the dry ingredients, pressing and stirring the sticky dough until it comes together.

On a lightly floured surface, shape the dough into a circle that is approximately 8” across. Cut into eight triangles and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet about one inch apart. If you want smaller scones, you can also cut the triangles in half.

Sprinkle each scone with turbinado sugar.

Bake scones for 15-18 minutes or until they are golden brown. Let cool slightly before serving.