I have a confession to make.
I was a scone virgin.
No, really … I was. Up until a week ago, I’ve never made scones before. I’ve never even eaten a scone before. What a world I have been missing!
 
There are so many different kinds of scones. And different ways to pronounce it as well. Yet again, it’s another battle between the British and the Americans. The Brits pronounce it as “skon” like gone. Whereas, the Americans pronounce it as “s-cone” like own. Either way you say it, they’re still a versatile little biscuit. Click here to read more about the history on scones. Being so versatile, there’s sure to be a least 1 or 2 or more you can add to your recipe repertoire. 
 
You can make them sweet, like the Cranberry Orange Scones. Great with a cup of joe in the morning or when you have company over in the evening. This recipe is not overly sweet and can be changed to suit your family’s tastes. Switch out the orange for lemon or the cranberries for blueberries. For you chocolate lovers out there, skip the cranberries and orange all together. Throw chocolate chips into the mix and drizzle chocolate sauce on top. Or for you fellow Canadians out there…MAPLE! Add some maple syrup and walnuts to the mix & instead of water for the icing - use maple syrup! I bet it wont be long before you have a few favourites.
 
You can make them savory, like Bacon Cheddar Scones. Fabulous along side say maybe … a bowl of Creamy Clam Chowder. Make them bite-sized and serve them along with the Garlic & Parmesan version (coming soon) to make great hors d’oeurvres! Again, feel free to switch out different herbs & spices and customize them for your occasion.
 
Now, don’t get me wrong, scones do come with a reputation. Don’t Be Alarmed! Scones, like biscuits, have been known from time to time in a land far far away, to turn out like hockey pucks. Okay, triangle-shaped hockey pucks. The key to avoiding this is to simply not overmix your ingredients. Be gentle. Be tender. If you follow this one golden rule, you will guarantee yourself a fine and dandy scone.

So the next time you see an attractive, enticing scone in your local coffeeshop - go all the way!
Home, that is, and bake yourself a batch of these great versatile biscuits that your family will love.

While skimming through my recipe book trying to decide what recipe to add next, I realized that it was filled with someone else’s recipes. Page after page I flipped through finding recipes from all different websites, copycat recipes from restaurants, hand written recipes from friends. Other people’s recipes. And then I thought, “Do I not have a single recipe of my very own”?
 
But I do…
Because for every mouth-watering method I have printed in that binder, I have made those recipes my own. If I thought that the Holy Guacamole recipe would taste better with lime juice instead of lemon juice, I changed it. If I thought that the recipe for Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies would taste that much better with expresso powder, I added it. And sometimes my changes came from having to substitute ingredients I just couldn’t eat.
 
My point being that when you make changes to a recipe (for the better, I would hope) to suit your family’s tastes, you’re in a sense creating your own recipe. Have you ever gone back and looked at the original recipe that you’ve been making for years? Look how much you’ve changed it by tweeking this or deleting that. You’ve made it your own.
 
But what if you’re one of those cooks that’s terrified to stray from the original? That’s why I’m here. I want to inpsire you to bring out your own creativity. I want you to question your old standby recipes. I want you to look at them in a new light. Even if you only have a dozen recipes in your collection, by changing one or two ingredients you can create a whole new recipe. Your own recipe.
 
So be brave…I’m here to help inspire you. Help you build your own binder of new family favorites.