Brown Sugar-Kissed Scones with Plum Preserves

There is something about this time of year - summer coming to an end and people going back to school, that always makes me want to sit down and enjoy Afternoon Tea - perhaps in a little bistro with a good book. It has me wanting to make coffee cakes and dainty sandwiches, warm scones and homemade preserves.

It really doesn't get any more simple than these preserves - and they feature a delicious local specialty that I have seen piling up at the markets recently - Zwetschge (prune plums).

You can use any kind of plum (or combination thereof) for these simple preserves (and in fact, I threw in a few red plums just to add a bit of tart juiciness and bright color). If you are lucky enough to have fresh, tree-ripened plums you may be able to eliminate sugar from this recipe all together.

Plum Preserves
about 2 lbs ripe plums, coarse chopped
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup sugar
3-4 tsp cinnamon (or 1 cinnamon stick, removed at the end of simmering)

Place chopped plums in a 2-quart saucepan with water and sugar and cinnamon. Bring to a simmer and allow to simmer, uncovered until reduced and thickened (around 45 minutes to an hour). Stir occasionally - you will need to stir more frequently at the end of cooking.

Keeps in the fridge for about a month.

Brown Sugar-Kissed Scones
based on the Better Homes & Gardens recipe - I wasn't wild about these scones but they do the trick in a pinch.
2 cups flour
3 tbs sugar
1 tbs baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
6 tbs cold butter* (see tip below)
1 beaten egg
1/2 cup half-and-half or light cream, plus 1 tbs
2 tbs light brown sugar

Preheat oven to 4oo F (204 C).

Combine flour, 3 tbs sugar, baking powder and salt. Cut in butter. At this point you could optionally stir in chopped nuts or dried fruit or citrus zest if you so desire. Combined egg and 1/2 cup half-and-half; add to dry mixture and stir until just moistened.

Turn dough onto a floured surface (hint: wet the counter the stick down a large piece of plastic wrap to use as a quick-clean surface). Knead 12 to 15 times or until nearly smooth. Pat or lightly roll to about a 1/2-inch thickness and cut with a medium cutter (I used heart shaped, but you could just use the top of a drinking glass and do simple round scones as well).

Place scones 1 inch apart on an ungreased baking sheet. Brush the tops with the remaining half-and-half and sprinkle liberally with brown sugar. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden. Remove and cool on a wire rack for a few minutes, then serve warm. Makes around 10 or 12 scones.

*For these types of things I always start with frozen, or mostly frozen, butter that I cut up into small pieces. Its seems to work pretty well.