Drop Scones aka Scottish Pancakes

I’mmmmmmm back! Yup…I’ve definitely been missing in action for a while. I believe in my last post back in November I was complaining about our Indian Summer. Ha! What a difference in what we are experiencing now….historic Blizzard conditions in good old Virginia! We are pretty much buried under 2 feet + of snow!

I probably should make some excuses about my blog neglect at this point. However, I’m sure no one wants to hear them, so I think instead I’ll just focus on the “I’m back” bit and call it a day. So…I’m back with a great recipe for tomorrow, which is Burns Night! Robert Burns once referred to his native country as the “Land o’ Cakes”, so I think these are certainly appropriate for the occasion. (Burns was likely referring to the oatcake, rather than the pancake. Nevertheless…) Here we have Drop Scones which as also known as Scottish Pancakes.

Robert Burns was born in 1759 and is regarded as the National Poet of Scotland. On January 25th folks throughout the world, though especially in Scotland, will be celebrating with a Burns Night Supper to mark the occasion. I have done a few Burns Night recipes in the past. Last year I gave you Steak Auld Reekie over Crispy Tatties & Neeps:

As well as Dundee Cake with Hot Whiskey Marmalade:

The year before was Scotch Egg Pie:

Another great Scottish dish is Cock-a-leekie Soup:

Which I always serve up with fresh toasted Struan:

And not to be forgotten are the traditional Scotch Eggs,

which I have also done Deviled.

Whew! That is quite a lot of Scottish delicacies! Now I suppose these Drop Scones aren’t so much for the Burns Supper, but instead for a Burns Breakfast, which I guess could take place either the morning of or the morning after. Goodness knows if you’ve imbibed a bit too much the night before toasting Scotland’s favorite son, a big old pancake breakfast on the morning after would be very welcome indeed. The husband and I enjoyed a big batch of them on the morning of our most recent Snowpocalypse. These Scottish Drop Scones, slathered with butter, clotted cream and The Green Apron’s award-winning Chocolate Raspberry Preserves went a long way towards making us feel all warm and cozy! Oh and the never-ending supply of Mimosas might not have hurt either!

I would wager that there are a few of you out there saying, “Hey now. Wait just a minute. Those just look like good old pancakes. How are they Scottish? And what is up with “Drop Scones”? Aren’t scones biscuit type things?” So, let me address the pancake issue first. As it turns out, Scottish Pancakes are very similar to American style pancakes. They are maybe a bit thicker and a wee bit smaller, but otherwise the same. Scottish Pancakes are usually treated a bit more like toast or scones though in the sense that they are eaten with clotted cream and jam or butter and jam, rather than with maple syrup as is done in the States. And as for the Drop Scone thing. That is even a bit more confusing. The classic “Scone” is an individual serving cake or quick bread which is lightly sweetened and baked with baking powder as the leavening agent. Scones are often prepared by rolling the dough out into a circle and then cutting it into triangular-shaped wedges for serving. Once rolled, the dough can also be cut with a biscuit cutter into circles and baked individually. These Scottish Pancakes are called Drop Scones because rather than rolling the batter, you simply drop it onto a hot griddle and cooking it that way. Here in the States I often see folks referring to Drop Scones as scones which are not rolled out, but dropped by the spoonful onto baking trays and then baked in the oven. Hence the confusion. And don’t even get me going about the pronunciation of scone, which seems to either rhyme with “stone” or “gone”, depending on who you ask. I’m definitely in with the “stone” camp on that one! Anyhoo…the thing that I’m sure of here is that these Drop Scones or Scottish Pancakes are delicious! I’m sure The Bard would approve. After all he did say that “souple scones” were the “wale of food”, “wale” meaning best and I heartily agree. So don’t forget to raise a glass and drink a wee dram or two to Rabbie Burns tomorrow night.

• Servings: 6 - 7 Pancakes
• Difficulty: Easy
• Print

Ingredients:

• 125 grams All-Purpose Flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• pinch of salt
• 25 grams caster sugar
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 25 grams butter, melted
• 100 ml buttermilk
• Clotted Cream, Raspberry Preserves, Butter for topping

Directions:

Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and sugar in a medium-sized bowl.

In another bowl mix together the butter, eggs and buttermilk.

Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the buttermilk mixture. Mix until the ingredients are just combined. The batter will be on the thicker side.

Heat a flat griddle or frying pan. Brush pan with a little oil or melted butter.

Drop spoonfuls of the batter onto the hot griddle. In an attempt to make my pancakes the same size, I used an ice cream scoop, which holds about 3 tablespoons of batter. Leave the pancakes undisturbed until bubbles appear on the top. Flip the pancake over and cook for 1 -2 more minutes until golden brown.

Remove from pan and keep warm. Add additional butter/oil to the griddle and keep on making those cakes.

Serve warm with clotted cream and jam, or butter and maple syrup as you see fit.

Enjoy!

Drop Scones brought to you by: Runcible Eats (www.leaandjay.com)