Cream Scones, 1 2 3

We are about to conduct an experiment. For this experiment you will need a person; the person should be a person who: (1) loves scones; (2) is a self-professed non-cook. The purpose of this experiment is to prove that a self-professed non-cook who loves scones can whip up a batch of cream scones so quickly, so easily, that they will: (1) no longer consider themselves a non-cook; and (2) eat scones to their heart's content.

Don't believe me? I can get them there in three steps, using a Molly O'Neill recipe from The New York Times (courtesy of Amanda Hesser.) Are you ready? Here we go.

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

2. In a bowl mix together:

- 2 cups flour

- 1/3 cup sugar

- 1 Tablespoon baking powder

- 1/2 teaspoon salt

Then add 1 1/4 cups to 1 1/2 half cups heavy cream, stirring just until "a shaggy dough forms," adding more cream if the dough seems too dry.

3. Scoop the dough into scone-shaped mounds and place them on a cookie sheet 2 inches apart; brush each scone with more cream (I sprinkled with extra sugar) and bake until golden for about 15 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool.

That's it!

Even by the visuals, you can see how easy it is. Just be careful not to overmix the dough, or you'll get heavy scones--you want your scones light.

If you really do try this experiment on a scone-loving non-cook, please let me know the results. My hypothesis is that the yield will be total bliss; and that's my scientific opinion.