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kcline---THANKS! I will try your tips this weekend :) I tend to like dried fruits but also like the orange zest & sour cherry suggestions, too.

This is my basic scone recipe. Do not overwork the dough, especially after the liquid has been added. Think of it as biscuit dough.

Scones - Basic Recipe
You can cut these into the traditional six wedges or you can divide the dough into 3 pieces and make 18 mini scones for a breakfast buffet.

2 1/4 cup flour
1/3 cup sugar
2 tbsp. baking powder
1/8 tsp. (pinch) salt
1/3 cup cold butter cut into small dice
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup milk

For Topping
1 tbsp. milk
1 tbsp. Turbinado sugar (granulated sugar will also work)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Prepare a jellyroll or 1/2 sheet pan with parchment paper, set aside.

Place flour, sugar, baking powder and salt into a large bowl. Whisk to combine. Add the butter dice and with your hands squeeze the butter into the dry ingredients.

Note: Do this until the butter cubes are worked into the dry ingredients but the mixture will still look very dry. This is fine. Can be mixed in a food processor up to this point.

Mix together the egg, vanilla and 1/2 cup milk.

Note: Save yourself some cleanup time and use a 1 or 2 cup pyrex measure to do this. Measure out the 1/2 cup milk, add the vanilla and egg, use a fork to mix. Resist the temptation to add these ingredients separately to the dry ingredients.

Add liquid ingredients to dry. Using a rubber spatula, incorporate the ingredients with a few swift folds. Switching to your hand, gather and continue incorporating all ingredients - press into a mound in the bottom of the bowl.

Note: Once the wet ingredients are added, overworking the dough is possible. After adding wet to dry, the gluten in the flour is developed every time you agitate the ingredients so work with a gentle hand.

Transfer the mound of dough to the prepared pan and shape into a round about 1 1/2" tall and about 7" in diameter. Brush with the milk and sprinkle with the sugar. Using a bench scraper or knife, cut the round into six wedges. Move the wedges slightly apart from one another.

Note: Cutting the round into sections prior to baking is key. The cut surfaces will bake and you'll have scones with a well-defined, finished look. Scones cut after baking tend to dry out faster. Flattening the round too much will also yield a dry end product.

Bake in preheated oven 15 minutes, rotate pan and bake 7 minutes more; or until nicely browned on top.

This formula can support the addition of 1 cup of chopped nuts and 1 cup of dried fruit or 2 cups of either PLUS a tsp. of ground flavoring such as cinnamon. Put these ingredients into the dry ingredients, then proceed with recipe. (I have other variations if you're interested.)

One noteworthy variation...Make the dough and divide in half. Press half into a 7" round. Spread the top of it with a couple of tablespoons of cream cheese, then make a round with the remaining dough and place on top of the cream cheese layer. Press the edges, top with milk & turbinado, then cut into wedges.

I've had great success with the buttermilk scone recipe from Baking With Julia. Dried cherries are my favorite addition but any dried fruit would work well. I've used fresh blueberries too. I usually omit the citrus but would leave it in with blueberries.

I have made the rolled version with a cinnamon-brown sugar filling and glazed them, a sort of cheater cinnamon bun. They turn out great in a lot less time than a real, yeasty cinnamon roll.

BUTTERMILK SCONES

(12 triangular or 24 rolled scones)

Think of scones as British biscuits. They are made in a manner similar to biscuits and, in fact, share biscuits' buttery-layered texture, but their name, their shape and the fact that they're served with tea rather than gravy lift them to the level of fancier fare.

Here are scones two ways: the traditional triangle and the rolled -- tender buttermilk dough rolled around chopped fruits, nuts, and/or jam. Whichever way you choose, they're luscious: a la the British, with tea and whipped cream, or served the American way, with coffee and a gloss of jam.

This recipe from Marion Cunningham can be found in "Baking With Julia" by Dorie Greenspan (Morrow, $40).

FOR THE SCONES:

3 cups all-purpose flour

1/3 cup sugar

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 sticks (6 ounces) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

1 cup (approximately) buttermilk

1 tablespoon grated orange or lemon zest

FOR THE TOPPING:

1/2 stick (2 ounces) unsalted butter, melted, for brushing

1/4 cup sugar, for dusting

FILLING FOR ROLLED SCONES:

4 tablespoons jam or jelly and/or 4 tablespoons diced or small plump dried fruits, such as currants, raisins, apricots or figs (optional)

Position the oven racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

For the scones: In a medium bowl, stir the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt together with a fork. Add the cold butter pieces and, using your fingertips (the first choice), a pastry blender or two knives, work the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. It's okay if some largish pieces of butter remain -- they'll add to the scones' flakiness.

Pour in 1 cup buttermilk, toss in the zest, and mix with the fork only until the ingredients are just moistened -- you'll have a soft dough with a rough look. (If the dough looks dry, add another tablespoon of buttermilk.) Gather the dough into a ball, pressing it gently so that it holds together, turn it out onto a lightly floured work surface, and knead it very briefly -- a dozen turns should do it. Cut the dough in half.

For triangular-shaped scones: Roll one half of the dough into a 1/2-inch-thick circle that is about 7 inches across. Brush with half of the melted butter for the topping, sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of the sugar, and cut the circle into 6 triangles. Place the scones on an ungreased baking sheet and set aside while you roll out the other half.

For the rolled scones: Roll one half of dough into a strip 12 inches long and 1/2 inch thick (the piece will not be very wide). Spread the strip with half of the melted butter for the topping and dust with half of the sugar. If you want to spread the roll with jam and/or sprinkle it with dried fruits, now's the time to do so; leave a narrow border along one long edge bare. Roll the strip up from the other long side like a jelly roll; pinch the seam closed and turn the roll seam-side down. Cut the roll in half and cut each piece into six 1-inch-wide roll-ups. Place the rolled scones cut-side down on an ungreased baking sheet, leaving a little space between each one. Repeat with the remaining dough.

Bake the scones in the preheated oven for 10 to 12 minutes, until both the tops and bottoms are golden. Transfer the scones to a rack to cool slightly. These are best served warm but are just fine at room temperature.

If you're not going to eat the scones the same day, wrap them airtight and freeze; they'll stay fresh for a month. To serve, defrost the scones at room temperature in their wrappers, then unwrap and reheat on a baking sheet for 5 minutes in a 350-degree oven.

Per triangular serving: 248 calories, 4 gm protein, 31 gm carbohydrates, 12 gm fat, 32 mg cholesterol, 7 gm saturated fat, 213 mg sodium

I found what for me is the perfect recipe for Scones on an old number of BBC Good Food: I've tried many times and always worked perfect, both straight from the oven or re-heated... But its so quick that I normally do it on the same morning I want to eat them...

Anyway, here's the link to it, on my blog:
http://kitchenpantry.blogspot.com/2007/06/best-scone-ive-ever-baked.html

My one tip is to leave some of the butter in quite large pieces after you've cut it in. It seems to keep the scones flakier when they're cooked.