Ingredients
Makes 8 scones
For apricot swirl
For scones
Make apricot swirl:
Step 1
Simmer apricots and water in a small heavy saucepan, covered, stirring occasionally, until water is absorbed, about 3 minutes, then transfer to a food processor. Add brown sugar and Amaretto and pulse to a coarse purée. Add almonds and pulse once or twice to coarsely chop nuts.
Step 2
Transfer purée to a bowl and cool to room temperature.
Make scones:
Step 3
Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 375°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment or wax paper.
Step 4
Put flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and butter in cleaned food processor, then crumble almond paste and add to processor. Pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal with some small (roughly pea-size) butter lumps. Transfer to a large bowl and stir in 2 tablespoons almonds.
Step 5
Whisk together buttermilk, eggs, and almond extract in a 2-cup glass measure, then reserve 2 tablespoons buttermilk mixture for brushing on scones. Make a well in center of flour mixture and pour in remaining buttermilk mixture, stirring with a wooden spoon until just combined. Add apricot purée and stir once or twice to distribute without incorporating fully. (Dough will be wet.)
Step 6
Transfer dough with floured hands to a well-floured surface, then turn dough to coat with flour and pat into a round about 6 inches in diameter and 2 inches thick. Carefully transfer dough to lined baking sheet and cut into 8 equal wedges with a floured knife, leaving wedges together. (If dough is too soft to cut, chill until firm, about 30 minutes, before cutting.)
Step 7
Brush top and sides with reserved buttermilk mixture and sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons almonds. Bake until golden and a wooden pick or skewer inserted in center of a scone comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. Cool on a rack 15 minutes and cut wedges to separate. Serve warm or at room temperature.
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Reviews (14)
Back to TopWas looking for a recipe to use up Christmas baking ingredients, but this was not a good use of expensive almonds, apricots and almond paste. The taste was OK but the texture dense, not like a scone at all. I used almond paste I bought in France and it seemed to overwhelm the flavor, I wonder about previous comment about measurements. I also agree that apricot flavor gets lost.
vmurray
Yonkers, NY
2/5/2012
These are good, but do need a bit of adjustment. The dough is VERY wet; why not just add 1/4 c. more flour to the list of ingredients? You will still have to add more at the end. They could use more apricots for more taste. Also, another Epicurious recipe using almond paste says "6 oz., or 1 1/3 c." but this one says "3 1/2 oz., or 1/3 c." These amounts do not mesh. If 3 oz. is only 1/3 c., then 6 oz., which is not even twice as much, should not measure nearly 4 times as large by volume. Who knows which is right???I think these could use more almond paste for a bit more taste. But they are good, albeit very large.
Anonymous
Wilmette, IL
4/21/2011
这是我的支持ite ever epicurious or any recipe really!!!! I am just CRAZY about it! Usually I add just a bit more of the apricot swirl because I love apricots, and the almond paste makes it have a subtle marzipan-like flavor. This is certainly a recipe that I'll make again and again!
Taosgal
Boston, MA
1/22/2011
I thought these were quite good. I was going to try the roll out, spread the apricot filling, and slice method, but found the dough too wet so instead I swirled the filling in and then scooped large spoonfulls of dough on the parchment paper and made round scones that way. I baked them for about 20-25 minutes. The apricot and almond flavor was not as intense as I would have liked, but oddly enough they were stronger the next day! My husband who loves marzipan loves them. I will definitely make them again, but may try using dried cherries just for something new.
koehlr
Bellingham, WA
11/21/2004
Nearly tasteless...this recipe does not show off the taste of the apricots at all. Rather blah.
Anonymous
Spokane, WA
11/2/2004
I made this as part of a ladies brunch and they were well received. I gently patted out the dough and then spread the filling on top and rolled up jelly-style. Looked beautiful and very delicate taste. I agree, not very traditional scone flavor but a very nice breakfast pastry. Will make again.
Anonymous
Oklahoma City
5/5/2004
My family really enjoyed these, but I did not. The texture was cakey, not scone-like, and this recipe takes longer to make than most scone recipes. I adore marzipan, but think that using almond paste in scones is a bit extravagant- and I honestly could not taste it at all. Actually, these scones did not really have any distinct flavor(s). They spread out a lot in the oven, so either space them well apart or cut the (very, very, sticky) dough into smaller wedges. Despite all of it's positive reviews, I did not find this recipe to be worth the required time or ingredients, and so will not be making these scones again.
Anonymous
Davis, CA
3/21/2004
I actually lost this recipe and am thrilled to find it again. I do agree the size was gargantuan and had already decided I would make them thinner and smaller. Delicious! Come for breakfast tomorrow?
Anonymous
Lexington, KY
2/21/2004
This is my recipe but it has been altered by Gourmet. There is no kneeding. I do not add the apricot mixture to the dough. I pat out the dough & spread the apricot stuff; roll like a jelly roll. Cut in rounds, baste & garnish with almonds then bake. You can control the thinness & also change the filling per taste.
Carla Rollins
York, Maine
12/3/2003
I made these exactly as directed (no kneading!). They are good, not great. If I make them again, I would separate the scones before baking, so they would bake more uniformly (not dry in the center and moist at the connected edges). I would also press the dough out thinner and possibly cut into more pieces; these are awfully "beefy" but good tasting and attractive.
Anonymous
Wilmette, IL
11/23/2003
Makes you wonder if Englewood ever read the recipe at all. ;)
the sunshine state
11/23/2003
This is a fantastic recipe and felt the instructions were without fault. Where did it say you should knead this dough?!!!!! Believe the one baker needs to re-read the instructions. I formed them into free-form biscuits instead of the pie shoped servings since this is the way we prefer scones. This recipe is an absolute winner.
att.net ( rnjeffs@worldnet.att.net )
Honolulu, Hawaii
11/3/2003
The flavor and texture were excellent...however, the technique for baking was seriously flawed. Given the amount of moisture in this recipe, there's no way you can knead the dough. I used a scone pan which did the trick! Makes me wonder if the writer ever fixed this recipe at all! But the extra work was worth it!
Anonymous
Englewood, CO
10/26/2003
Great looking BIG scones !! Nice cakey texture and not too sweet .
Nancy
Morristown,NJ
9/30/2003
