Dogfish Indian Brown Ale Beer Scones:

Something odd is happening to me. I was unsure on how to admit it at first. It took me a few weeks to realize, but now I can say for sure: I have a problem, my friends. I have a serious addiction.

I have a fever.

And the only cure for that fever is more baking....baking with booze.

After my successful muffin venture, I decided to up the difficulty level. I wanted to make something unique, something that a more casual beverage like beer would be an innovation, or at least a surprise ingredient too. Something more highbrow than a beer bread. Something more complicated than a muffin.

After spending a good portion of my lunch hour on recipe searches, I decided that I would make beer scones. There are a few beer scone recipes out there, but none that I thought would produce what I wanted. So I improvised on my own. Because I am an adventurous baking risk taking machine.

I selected Dogfish Head Indian Brown Ale as my beer to complement the nuts and raisins in my scones.
The trick to baking with beer, I am learning, is to add enough dry ingredients to your batter or dough, creating a product that is not too goopy/dry without losing the beer flavor or compromising the other flavors. I managed to get it right.

Dogfish Indian Brown Beer Scones with Raisins and Pecans:

1 and ¼ cup raisins
1 cup nuts
2 tsp cinnamon
1 cup beer
4 cups self rising flour
3 tbsp sugar
6 tbsp cold butter cut into chunks
¼ cup heavy cream

Glaze:
1 egg
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon honey or brown sugar

after mixing in the dry ingredients, cut in the heavy cream, then lastly, the butter. Do not overmix, or the scones will be little bricks and you will be sad.

Cuttin' in the butter

Form the dough into a large ball. You can add more flour if you think the mixture is too soggy or sticky. Trust your instincts. I think a good consistency is a little bit stickier than a biscuit dough. Flatten the dough into a pizza-shape about ¾ an inch thick. I used a pizza cutter to make triangles. Use more flour on the pizza cutter if the dough gets too clingy.

Glaze the tops of the scones once cut and about and inch and a half on a greased baking sheet; and bake at 425 for 20 minutes or longer, until golden brown and crispy. Remove from the oven and let cool. You can sprinkle with sugar immediately after taking out of oven if you want more sweetness.

These scones have a very nice cinnamon raisin flavor. They are not as flaky as some scones you might purchase at the grocery store, but are still pretty light. I took them to work to test them out, and people that professed they did not even like raisins enjoyed them. I couldn't ask for a better endorsement.