Spinach Feta Scones...Breakfast of Champions

All summer long I have been cooking, canning, and most recently, blogging.  Although these activities can be time consuming and even strenuous at times, they are nothing compared to what happens to me at the end of August every year.  I have not mentioned it before, but I am a teacher.  I teach elementary school and love it, but it is a lot of work.  As I write this, I am juggling things trying to get ready for the first week of school.  I have been running around like a crazy person setting up my classroom, planning lessons, and getting back into the rhythm that is my life ten months out of the year. 

I hate to admit that I did not cook dinner tonight (we ate at a local deli instead) due to sheer lack of energy and will power.  But I did make breakfast for tomorrow-  a breakfast that is easy, familar, very tasty, and one which should take me through the day until lunch.  Heck, at the rate I am going now, it may end up being lunch too.  I decided to take a little break from working to share it with you.

This is a brief post to show you my favorite scone recipe, and to tell you that if you have never made spinach and feta scones, you must.  Not trying to be bossy or anything, but they are awesome.  So just do it.  They are tender on the inside, crunchy on the outside, and full of cheesy goodness.   

I have been making these so long I honestly do not remember where the recipe came from, but I am sure that I have tweaked it so much that it can be added here with no fear of the copyright police. 

You begin by mixing the dough and patting it into a circle.  The dough will be chock full of spinach and feta but should come together nicely.  You then score the dough but leave it together and bake it for 20 minutes. 

Pull the scones apart and separate on the baking sheet to continue baking.  

When they are almost finished, brush the dough with melted butter and broil the scones several minutes until brown (watching closely so they don't burn).

  
And there you have it.  A great breakfast or bread to go with a dinner salad or bowl of soup.  Now, I am going to head off to the kitchen to grab one before returning to my "super-stressed-out-planning-'til-the-wee-hours-of-the-morning" life.  Don't you want to join me?!

Spinach Feta Scones-makes 8 scones

3/4 cup buttermilk
1 egg
3 cups all-purpose flour
4 tsp baking powder
6 tbsp butter, chilled and cut in cubes
2 tbsp butter, melted
1/8 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
10 oz frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed of excess moisture
4 oz crumbled feta

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a small bowl, whisk the egg and buttermilk until blended.  In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt.  Using a pastry blender or your fingers, cut the butter into the dry ingredients until it resembles coarse crumbs.  Add buttermilk mixture to dry ingredients and stir gently to combine.  Add spinach and feta and stir to blend.  Put dough on a lightly floured surface
and knead until the ingredients are mixed thoroughly and uniformly (5-6 times should be sufficient).  Pat dough into a 3/4 inch thick circle.  Score the dough into eight wedges but do not pull apart.  Place circle on parchment lined baking sheet and bake 20 minutes.  Remove pan from oven and separate wedges.  Continue baking 10 minutes more until the edges of each wedge are dry.  Remove from oven, turn on the broiler, brush each scone with melted butter, and place back in the oven.  Broil the scones 2 minutes or so more until browned on top (be careful not to burn).  Scones can be eaten warm or placed in an airtight container and enjoyed for several days.