Petite Tea Party Scones

A few months ago, I bought my niece this cute little porcelain tea set for when she comes over to visit, and I couldn't wait to throw us a tea party. In addition to traditional finger sandwiches and pretty, bite-sized desserts served on tiered stands, every proper tea party needs scones. Classic varieties tend to be dry, crumbly, and studded with dried fruit, and probably not a hit among most five-year olds. I wanted to make something she'd love; fun, colorful and a bit sweeter than the average teatime staple. These petite tea party scones are loaded with rainbow sprinkles and taste a bit like birthday cake- perfect for the pickiest of tea party guests of all ages!

INGREDIENTS

• 2-½ Cups Unbleached, All-Purpose Flour plus about ¼ cup extra, reserved
• 3 Tbsp. Granulated White Sugar
• 2 tsp. Baking Powder
• ¾ tsp. Kosher Salt
• ¾ Cup Rainbow Sprinkles
• 1-½ Cups Heavy Cream, Cold plus 2-3 extra Tablespoons (reserved)
• 1 tsp. Pure Vanilla Extract
• ½ tsp. Pure Almond Extract
• 1 Tbsp. Sparkling Finishing Sugar or granulated white sugar, sugar in the raw, etc.

Glaze Ingredients

• 1 Cup Powdered Sugar
• ½ tsp. Vanilla Extract
• ¼ tsp. Almond Extract
• Scant pinch of Salt
• 3-4 Tbsp. Heavy Cream

INSTRUCTIONS

Step 1: Preheat your oven to 400℉ and gather your ingredients.

Step 2: In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients, starting with the flour, then adding in the granulated sugar, salt, and baking powder.

Step 3: Stir in the rainbow sprinkles, tossing everything together.

Step 4: Add both extracts into the heavy cream and pour into the flour.

Using a rubber spatula, gently begin to fold in the flavored cream, scraping from the bottom and cutting through the dough to full incorporate all of the ingredients. Switch over to using a flexible bench scraper after all of the wet ingredients have been incorporated. This makes forming a cohesive ball of dough a little easier, although it will still be shaggy (rough and sticky), not smooth.

Step 5: Add the dough to a clean work surface dusted with flour. Dust the surface of the dough with additional flour, then lay a piece of parchment paper on top. Use a rolling pin to evenly press the dough into an approximately 10" diameter. You'll want your scones to be the same thickness so that they are consistently the same size and bake evenly, and the parchment will protect your dough from sticking directly to the rolling pin. Remove and discard the parchment.

Step 6: Grab a small bowl filled with a few tablespoons of flour. Dipping the cutter into the flour will make cutting out the individual scones easier.

Step 7: Place scones onto a parchment lined sheet pan. One batch will yield approximately 44 scones, using a 1-inch cookie cutter.

Using your reserved heavy cream, gently brush the tops of each unbaked scone.

Step 8: Bake scones for approximately 18-20 minutes, just until they are light and golden brown in color. When fully baked, remove the scones from the oven and allow to cool.

Step 9: In the meantime, prepare the glaze. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, both extracts, a pinch of salt and a few tablespoons of heavy cream, adding in additional cream as needed to get the correct consistency. The glaze shouldn't be too thick or too thin.

If you drizzle the glaze back into the bowl, it should run smoothly from your whisk like a thin ribbon that doesn't immediately disappear into the rest of the glaze.

Drizzle glaze over each scone, and sprinkle with sparkling sugar. The glaze will harden as it sets, allowing the scones to be stacked.

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