Lavender scones and white chocolate whipped cream: a welcome distraction from Charlie Sheen

Food is a constant distraction for me. It's essentially all I think about. I can spend hours on the internet, thinking about food, while the media is bombarding the world with some crazy news (à la Charlie Sheen).  I'm usually so engulfed in food that I can't hear/see what's happening out there, even though it's all over the internet that I am browsing. I guess I just filter out what I don't need to know.





Even a simple ripe banana can distract me.










Of course, my filter isn't perfect. Some useless information inevitably leaks through once and awhile. The other day, the name Charlie Sheen and the words gold tooth and tiger blood caught my attention while I was ignoring the kitchen radio. People seem pretty excited over Charlie Sheen right now, but I've missed most of the story. Oh well. Charlie Sheen's gold tooth probably won't affect my life, for better or for worse. Also, I'm pretty sure that Charlie Sheen shouldn't play with tigers...






 



1 cup cold butter
2 cups heavy cream
2 tsp dried lavender


608 grams all-purpose flour
100 grams granulated sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 salt
1 tsp dried lavender
White chocolate whipped cream (optional)
Cut the butter into small, 1-inch cubes, and chill it in the fridge until you are ready to use it.
Heat the cream and 2 tsp lavender in a small saucepan on medium heat until the cream begins to steam. Remove from the heat and let the lavender/cream mixture steep for 10 minutes before transferring it to the fridge to cool (about 1 hour).
In a large bowl, whisk together all the other dry ingredients.
Drop the cold butter cubes into the dry ingredients, and press the cubes of butter into the flour with your fingertips to get large flour-covered flakes (approximately the size of corn flakes).
With a wooden spoon, stir in the cold lavender/cream mixture just until the dough clumps (don't overmix it!). The dough should be a clumpy, floury mess at this point.
Preheat the oven to 400°F and place a flat baking sheet on the middle rack.


Pour the dough mixture onto a floured work surface, and pat it into a rectangle.
Roll the rectangle into an 8x12-inch rectangle. Fold it in thirds (like a letter), rotate, and repeat three more times. Be sure to flour the surface at every step to avoid the dough sticking. If the dough gets too warm, it will stick even more, so you may need to chill it for 10 minutes in the fridge.
Roll out the dough to an 8x12-inch rectangle, and cut your scones (either using a knife into wedges, squares or rectangles, or with a floured glass to make circles). I cut the dough into 14 rectangles.
Place the scones on a lined baking sheet. Freeze for 15 minutes.
Take the baking sheet with the scones directly from the freezer, and place it on top of the preheated baking sheet. Bake for 20?25 minutes, until the edges begin to brown, and the tops are just golden.
Remove the scones from the oven, and place them to cool on a rack lined with a towel. Cover loosely with another dish towel to avoid drying out the scones.
Serve warm or at room temperature with a dollop of cream.