Rhubarb Oat Scones

RHUBARB OAT SCONES

By Anne Willhoit

We celebrate rhubarb as one of our first fruits of spring, but really, on our island, we can harvest it for most of the summer. If you’re lucky enough to have some hearty plants in your yard, simply grasp the stalk firmly, twist to snap, then take off all the leaves. In the kitchen, trim the ends and store in the fridge until you’re ready to use them. Talking with a group of friends on a tired Friday night while enjoying a burger and fries at Cafe Hitchcock, one confessed to not having cooked a “real meal” in ages. “Unless you count pasta,” she said. Since when do we not consider pasta a real meal? It definitely counts! There are, however, a few tricks you can have up your sleeve to make pasta night a little more substantial. I’m a big fan of the “cook once and freeze it for the future method.” One of the delights of wintertime and the holidays is making time to gather.

Scones are a nice partner for summer. They bake up quickly and travel well, ready to ride beside you on your adventure or busy day. This one has a nice crumb, the oats and the whole wheat providing some substance to balance the rhubarb. They are not overly sweet. If you prefer something sweeter or maybe are new to rhubarb, mix up the glaze and dip the tops after the scones come out of the oven. 

Scones are also a make-ahead dream. After shaping, just freeze them on a tray, bag when hard, then bake frozen when needed. Increase the bake time by 5 minutes. 

Makes 14 scones 

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting surface 

1/2 cup whole wheat flour 

1/2 cup rolled oats 

1 Tbsp. + 1 tsp. baking powder 

2 Tbsp. sugar 

1/2 tsp. table salt 

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cold 

1/2 cup sour cream 

1/2 cup milk 

1/2-pound rhubarb, about 3 long stems 

Optional glaze for tops: 

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar 

3 Tbsp. water 

1 tsp. vanilla 

Directions: 

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment. 
2. Chop the rhubarb into 1/4-inch pieces and set aside. 
3. In a large bowl, mix the flours, oats, baking powder, sugar and salt. 
4. Cut the butter into rough cubes and add these to the dry ingredients. Mix around and then begin to squish the butter with your fingers. Continue to mix and squish with your hands until you have an uneven, coarse mixture with some large lumps. 
5. Stir the sour cream and milk together and add this to the bowl with the butter mixture. Stir together with a rubber spatula in a mixing and folding motion until it is all moistened. (Use a tiny trickle of milk if there are dry scraps in the bottom of the bowl. 
6. Add in the rhubarb and fold until dispersed throughout. 
7. On a floured surface, dump out the mixture from the bowl and gently bring it together into a solid log about 20 inches long, 3 inches wide, and 1 inch thick. 
8. Cut this log into approximately 14 similarly sized triangular scones, restructuring the ones on the ends a bit to be triangles. 
9. Decide if you’re going to glaze after the bake or make a simple topping by painting a little milk on each scone and sprinkling with extra sugar before the bake. 
10. Bake for 15-20 minutes. (When you see a little toasty brown color on the edges, you know they’re done.) 
11. If glazing, let the scones cool on a rack for a bit. Whisk the water, powdered sugar and vanilla together. Dip the tops of the scones or drizzle each one with stripes.