I think everyone has their favorite “go-to” recipe. You know the one that won’t let you down when you get in a pinch. This is mine. I can almost make these scones in my sleep… in matter of fact I think I did. Somewhere between spending 6 hours in my car driving all over LA in Friday rush hour traffic, and several hours in ER with a friend, I squeezed baking these treats in.

What was the baking urgency? The LA Food Bloggers Cookie & Cookbook Exchange hosted by In Erika’s Kitchen. It was great to meet other fellow bloggers and chow down on some of the best cookies I have tasted in a long time. Check out Dorothy’s blog Shockingly Delicious to see gorgeous photos of the event.

White Chocolate & Apricot Scones

Adapted from Simply Scones Cookbook
Makes about 2 dozen or so.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, chilled
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1 large egg
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 6 ounces white chocolate, finely chopped
• 1 cup finely chopped dried apricots
• nutmeg – optional

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut the butter into 1/2-inch cubes and distribute them over the flour mixture. With a pastry blender or two knives used scissors fashion, cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
3. In a small bowl, stir together the cream, egg, and vanilla. Add the cream mixture to the flour mixture and knead until combined. Knead in the white chocolate and apricots.
4. On a lightly floured work surface roll out the dough to a thickness of about 5/8-inch. Using a 3-inch heart-shaped cookie cutter, cut the dough into hearts. Gather the scraps of the dough together and repeat until all the dough has been used to make the hearts. Sprinkle with nutmeg (optional).
5. Transfer the hearts to an ungreased baking sheet and bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until top is lightly browned.
6. Remove from baking sheet to a wire rack and cool for 5 minutes. Serve warm, or cool completely and store in an airtight container.

To Freeze:
Wrap the unbaked scones tightly in plastic wrap and aluminum foil and freeze.  Bake the still-frozen scone hearts about 20-25 minutes.

Yum