When reading through the recipe for drop scones, or Scotch pancakes as I believe them to be more commonly known, I was surprised by how simple the method appeared to be. To be honest I didn't have high expectations; they certainly didn't appear to be very exciting! However, I couldn't really judge as I've never made or even tasted one before!
I barely needed any ingredients for this recipe. It was rather nice not to make a special trip to the shop; I already had everything required in stock! First of all, I greased a frying pan with a little oil and set it over a low heat. I then moved on to weighing some flour into a large bowl. Although the flour was self-raising, I also required a little baking powder. I wondered how high these scones could possibly rise in a frying pan! To sweeten the mixture I tipped in a little caster sugar. It didn't seem very much, but Mary suggests serving the scones with golden syrup, so that should more than make up for it. I stirred the dry ingredients together before making a well in the center. Now it was ready for me to add the wet ingredients. I cracked an egg into the center and then went to retrieve the milk from the fridge. After I'd measured out the milk, all that was left was a little dribble. This meant that we would need to make a trip to the shop after all; I doubted Neil would survive without his afternoon cup of tea! I only poured half of the milk into the bowl to start with and then beat the thick mixture until smooth. It didn't look very attractive at this point! I added not quite all of the remaining milk until I had a mixture the consistency of thick cream as instructed.
I dropped tablespoons of mixture into my hot frying pan. I only managed to fit four blobs of mixture into the pan at one time. Mary says that once bubbles rise to the surface of the scones it is time to turn them over. I loved seeing the little bubbles appear, so much so that I called Neil over to witness the spectacle - simple pleasures! After about 30 seconds the scones were ready to be turned over; they only took about a minute to cook in total. The recipe should have made 21 drop scones, but my portion sizes are obviously much larger than dear Mary's; I just managed to scrape in at 16! The finished scones looked lovely and golden but not exactly pretty. Neil and I greedily placed several on our plates and drizzled generous amounts of honey over the top (we didn't fancy golden syrup). They were a little tricky to eat daintily and I ended up with very sticky fingers! I have to say, I love drop scones or Scotch pancakes, or whatever you want to call them. They were delicately sweet and light. Adding honey made them even more deliciously moreish. I think Neil must have eaten at least ten scones; he loved them! We selflessly saved Isaac a small scone, but kept it plain. He gave us such a big smile and it was gone in ten seconds flat.
I know I will make these again and again. They were on our plates within just a few minutes. They were ridiculously easy to make and I am sure children would love to help. Not only are they super speedy to make but they taste great too; what more can you want!
Simple but tasty!
