Have you tried mini scones?

My Favorite Scone Recipe

I love to bake, and really like scones. However, I find that not everyone will eat an entire scone at one time. I had a favorite scone recipe that contained rolled oats, which made the scones likely to fall apart as you picked it up to eat it.

Then I found the perfect solution: making them smaller, almost bite sized.

It is easy to do if you have the right equipment. I found my solution in the King Arthur Flour company’s mail order catalog. I already had their scone pan, which I used for my full-sized scones. One day I noticed that they had a new offering: a mini-scone pan by the same manufacturer, Nordic Ware.

Nordic Ware makes high quality, non-stick (or almost non-stick) cooking and baking pans, all made in America of heavy, high quality formed aluminum. Their collection of forms for bundt cakes make a simple recipe look fabulous. Nordic Ware cake pan designs range from simple fluted edges to braids to Yule logs, gingerbread houses, Christmas trees, even a Gothic cathedral.

I purchased Nordic Ware’s mini-scone pan from the King Arthur Flour company 7 years ago and it works perfectly with any recipe for scones.

I’ve used the pan with muffin recipes, but ended up with extra batter. I need to be ready with my small 6-muffin pan for the overflow.

One of my favorite cookbooks is the Quaker Oats Wholegrain Cookbook, a 5 ½ by 8 inch, 63-page booklet promoting using rolled oats in cooking and baking.

My copy of this recipe booklet is well-loved. Its cover is missing and the pages of my favorites are stained with the evidence of frequent use. You’ll find small smears and drips on the pages showing the recipes for Create-A-Cookie, page 55, Honey-Oatmeal Muffins, page 19, Muesli {Swiss Oatmeal} on page 18, and my personal favorite, Scottish Oat Scones, gracing page 20.

I make mini-scones over regular scones because they make such wonderful finger food. Just a few bites, unlike a full-sized scone. I have served them for breakfast, brunch, and as a substitute for cookies for tea in the afternoon.

This time of year, I substitute chopped cranberries for the raisins and sometimes add some chopped nuts. I find that chopping the nuts or fruit into smaller pieces works best for mini scones. They freeze very well, too. You can pop one in the microwave still frozen for 30 seconds or so for a quick breakfast or snack.

Nordic Ware pans are widely available at department stores. King Arthur Flour still carries them in their catalog, along with other online retailers.

Dr. Louise Achey, Doctor of Pharmacy, is a 43-year veteran of pharmacology and author of Why Dogs Can’t Eat Chocolate: How Medicines Work and How YOU Can Take Them Safely. Get clear answers to your medication questions at her website and blog TheMedicationInsider.com.