These last weeks have not been good for breakfast. Life has been rather rough, and it’s brought on a depression that leaves me weak-armed and unwilling to consume anything but smoothies and soup. But it’s autumn, and we should have nice things to eat. Scones are easy, and sage doesn’t have to be just for stuffing turkeys or making pumpkin turnovers. Try it with dried apricots and apricot jam in these simple cream scones.

Japan notes: dried apricots and fresh sage might be a little harder to find than walnuts, but bigger grocery stores may have both.

Apricot-Sage Cream Scones

Yields 8 scones

Adapted from “Cream Scones” in The Joy of Cooking (2006 ed.), p. 640

Ingredients

1 cup (120 g) whole-wheat pastry flour (okashiyô zenryûhun, お菓子用全粒粉）
3/4 cup (94 g) all-purpose flour (komugiko, 小麦粉)
2.25 tsp baking powder (bêkingu paudâ, ベーキングパウダー)
1/2 tsp salt (shio, 塩)

1 TBSP honey (hachimitsu, 蜂蜜, ハチミツ)
1.25 cups (300 mL) heavy cream (hebî kurîmu, ヘビー・クリーム)
1/2 cup (60 g) dried apricots (hoshi anzu, 干しアンズ), chopped
1 TBSP fresh sage leaves, chopped (~5 leaves) (sêji, セージ)

Equipment

A large bowl

A cookie sheet (kukkî shîto, クッキーシート)

Procedure

1. Preheat the oven to 450° F/230° C.
2. Grease a cookie sheet and set aside.
3. Add the whole-wheat pastry flour, all-purpose flour, and baking powder to a medium bowl and stir to combine. Add the honey, cream, apricots, and sage and stir in a few quick strokes to incorporate. Form the dough into a ball with your hands.
4. Place the ball of dough onto a floured surface and flatten into a 8-in/ 20-cm disk. Cut into 8 wedges with a large knife and place them on the cookie sheet.
5. Bake for 15 minutes until golden brown.
6. Serve with apricot jam.