fresh peach scones (before the peaches leave.)

Bet you didn’t think I would post something in April and then be all “peace out!” until August, did you? Yeah, neither did I. “Time flies” seems a little too cliche of a sentiment, but it’s accurate: time really does fly, and we had an unusually large amount of random things going on this spring and summer, even for us. Without going into too much detail or complaint, I’ll just summarize by saying that I’m happy to have gone through it, proud we waded through, and even happier that it’s over. I owe a few of you long-overdue catch-up emails, because my communication levels have been at Level 5 Introvert lately.

Things are more normal now, which is good for writing because man, do I need routine in my life. Thankfully, most things in our world have stayed pretty reliable – the magazine, my other graphic design work, all chugging away as usual. When there’s chaos in the air here, the first thing to go is my extracurricular baking and cooking: sad for everyone, especially me. I just can’t get my head around it: recipes take time – from shopping to prep to actual execution, and trying to do in the middle of a whirlwind seems like it would be relaxing (and maybe it is, for some of you lucky souls), but for me, it’s not. Me wanting to make these scones was the first indication that things were slowing down around here, which is a credit to how tempting these are. They didn’t disappoint: they’re incredible. Period.

I’m not what you’d call a scone girl (to be fair, does anyone call anyone else a “scone girl”? Perhaps.) To me, scones are overwhelmingly dry, lacking flavor, and generally not worth it to me. Making scones? Same feelings – I’d rather put my hands in some simple buttermilk biscuits. Folding fresh fruit into scones feels like a chore at best, acute failure at worst, because any attempt to “evenly distribute” things in a nearly immovable dough is straight-up frustrating.

But these – so forgiving, these little guys! First, chopped peaches don’t burst and stain everything – I’m looking at you, blueberries and raspberries – they just sit tight and stay in place. Their slippery outsides make them easy to fold in, and the finished bake on these is superb: like peach preserves on a hot biscuit, which is high praise. Also, no rolling out! These are drop biscuits, which means it’s just you, an ice cream scoop, and a few minutes’ work. I love them, you’ll love them, make the scones.

Adapted – if only slightly – from King Arthur Flour’s recipe. Hard to mess too much with their stuff because it’s so well thought out.

Fresh Peach Scones

Makes | 12 to 14 |

• 2 cups (241g) unbleached all-purpose flour (I do use KAF and love it)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup (67g) granulated sugar
• 1 1/4 tsp Vietnamese cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 6 tablespoons cold butter, cut into pieces
• 2 large eggs
• 1/3 cup full-fat sour cream or greek yogurt
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups (142g) diced peaches, peeled or not; fresh, frozen/thawed, or canned
• natural cane sugar, for sprinkling on top

| Preparation | Preheat the oven to 375°F and line a baking sheet with parchment. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, sugar, nutmeg, and baking powder. Work in the butter, using your fingers, a fork, or a pastry blender. In a separate small bowl, whisk together the eggs, yogurt or sour cream, and the extracts.

Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Add the peaches, stirring just until everything is combined. It’s a pretty thick dough, so give it a minute and try to get everything combined and even without overmixing. It’s tough, but worth it.

Drop the dough by the 1/4-cupful onto the prepared pan; a regular-size ice cream scoop (like you’d use for standard muffins) works well here. Sprinkle the scones with sugar and bake the scones for 20 to 24 minutes, until they’re a light golden brown. Remove them from the oven, and let them cool on the pan for a few minutes before transferring to a rack to cool completely.

Serve warm, or at room temperature. Store at room temperature, well-wrapped, for up to 2 days; freeze for longer storage.