Scones with Strawberry Jam and Cream

Did I ever mention that The LadyGirls and I have a Fairy Godmother? Well we do. Her name is Sarah and even just her name is lovely. She is beautiful and kind and classy and brilliant. And she is hipper than anybody I've ever met. Sarah is one of those rare people you meet in your life that actually wishes you well and wants you to succeed. And we have enjoyed many successes thanks to  her help and support. And just because she's so sweet and generous, I came home to a lovely jar of her homemade strawberry jam last weekend. We've been trying to get her to come on here and guest blog for us, and I only hope she'll share that jam recipe with us because I've never tasted better.

Now it's no secret that I don't bake. But just this once I decided to give it a go because I wanted to pay my respect to that beautiful jam. And to Sarah. So right now, the kitchen looks like it got hit by a bomb and the cold, nervous sweat is just now subsiding from the trauma of it all. And since I don't know anything about baking, I pulled a recipe off the internet called "Simple Scones." And for the cream, I pulled off a recipe that was called "Easy Mock Devonshire Cream." Usually I pass those over when it comes to cooking, but for baking, not so much! Oh for God sake, I just went to see who the author of the scones recipe is, and it's Pam Anderson. I can't believe that she bakes scones and yet I found them to be immensely challenging. Maybe it's a different Pam Anderson than who I'm thinking of.

You'll need:
2 cups of all purpose flour
1/3 cup of sugar
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1/4 teaspoon of baking soda
1/2 teaspoon of salt
8 tablespoons of frozen unsalted butter
1/2 cup of sour cream
1 large egg.
This recipe also called for 1/2 cup of raisins, but blech. That would ruin it I think.
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and put your rack to the middle position
Mix all the dry ingredients. Beat the egg and sour cream in a separate bowl until smooth.
Using the large holes on your box grater, grate the butter and add to the dry ingredients.
Work it in with your fingers until it resembles course meal. (whatever that means. I just worked it till it got on my nerves) and then add your wet bowl and stir with a fork. Work it all together until you can form a ball with it. (I added a few drops of water because it seemed to dry)
Lightly flour a surface and roll it out in a circle until it's about 3/4 inch thick. Cut it into 8 triangles. I just used a pizza cutter and place them on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for about 17 - 18 minutes.

While they're baking, make your cream.
1 package of softened cream cheese
1 cup of sour cream
3 tablespoons of confectioner's sugar
1 cup of heavy whipping cream

Beat the cream cheese until soft and add the sugar and sour cream and beat that for a minute or two and add the whipping cream. Once it's mixed in, turn your beater to high speed and continue beating until it's stiff. Put it in the fridge.

Once the scones have cooled, slice in half and put tons of this yummy cream on and a dollop of jam or preserves. So decadently delicious! I should bake more often. Thanks for the jam Sarah, and thanks for your friendship! xoxo