The country has gone mad baking and that is one good thing that has come to pass in this difficult time. It has been, as we know, a time of tragedy for many families. I often think of the suffering people are going through, and of the fine people that are working in so many capacities looking after people who are ill.

When times get back to normal, you will still enjoy these easy-to-make scones. I put up a recipe for scones with lemon and sultanas on Facebook recently and it got a great response. I was astonished by how many people had never cooked scones before. A little tip is that you can make this mixture, cut up, freeze and you can then cook scones from frozen at a later date. Allow a little longer baking time. Instead of buttermilk you can use sour milk, or add a little lemon juice to milk. The Little Mill in Bennettsbridge, Co Kilkenny, have a great online shop for flour. I loved filming with the Mosse family a few years ago.

In our restaurant I am lucky for have an absolutely amazing baker. Marie McGlone from Blacklion makes these scones for breakfast each morning and makes cookies to leave in the rooms for our guests. Recently she has been baking for some of our locals and that always puts smiles on faces.

Some years back, when we were filming for RTÉ in Kilmachthomas, Mary Flahavan of the famous Flahvan’s oats family baked oatmeal chocolate chip cookies for the team and gave me this recipe. I have also tried it with dried cranberries instead of chocolate chip, or you can leave out the chocolate, use only half the amount of sugar and you get a lovely savoury biscuit, ideal for cheese.

Happy baking,

Neven.

Recipes

Buttermilk scones. \ Philip Doyle

Buttermilk scones

Makes eight to 10 scones

225g self-raising flour

Pinch of salt

Pinch of baking powder

75g butter, diced

40g caster sugar

1 large egg, lightly beaten

3 tbsp buttermilk, plus a little extra

Butter, whipped cream and raspberry jam, to serve

  • 1 Preheat the oven to 220°C. Sift the flour into a bowl with the salt and baking powder, then rub in the butter. The best way to do this is to just pick the mixture up with your fingertips and lightly rub it together before letting it fall back into the bowl.
  • 2 Repeat this until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. You can also use a food processor to do this, although I never bother. Stir in the sugar.
  • 3 Beat the egg with the buttermilk. Make a well in the centre of the flour mixture and gently and quickly stir the liquid into the mixture.
  • 4 When it begins to come together, finish off with your hands. It should be soft but not sticky.
  • 5 If the mixture seems slightly dry, add a little more buttermilk (a teaspoon at a time).
  • 6 Lightly flour your work surface. Turn the dough onto it and pat into a circle roughly 2.5cm thick. Be careful not to roll it any thinner; the secret to a well-risen scone is to start out with a thickness of no less than 2.5cm.
  • 7 Cut into triangles with a sharp knife or stamp out 5cm rounds with a cutter.
  • 8 Carry on until you are left with the trimmings. Bring those back together to roll out again.
  • 9 Arrange the scones on a non-stick baking sheet, brush the tops with buttermilk and bake for 10-12 minutes, until well-risen and golden brown. Leave to cool for at least ten minutes on a wire rack.
  • 10 These scones are best served warm and straight out of the oven. Serve with butter for spreading and small pots of whipped cream and raspberry jam.

    • Oatmeal chocolate chip cookies

    Makes about 36 cookies

    275g progress oatlets (Flahavan’s)

    100g plain flour, plus extra for dusting

    150g caster sugar

    ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

    225g butter, room temperature

    100g plain milk chocolate chips

  • 1 Blend the oatlets in a food processor until quite fine. Add the flour, caster sugar, bicarbonate of soda and butter and blend until a well-combined dough comes together.
  • 2 Fold in the chocolate chips.
  • 3 Divide the dough into three pieces and roll each one into a long sausage. Wrap these three pieces of dough in cling film and chill for several hours.
  • 4 Preheat the oven to 180°C and line a baking sheet with parchment. Slice each log into 1.5cm thick biscuits and place on the baking sheet.
  • 5 Bake the biscuit for 10-12 minutes, until golden brown.