Utah Scones

Scones in Utah are different from scones I’ve had anywhere else. They’re similar to Indian frybread, made with a sweet yeast dough and buttermilk. They are absolutely delicious. These can be used as a dessert/breakfast food with honey, butter, jam, etc. Or you can use them for Navajo Tacos. One of my daughters likes to just eat them plain. They’re very versatile. Be warned, this recipe makes a massive amount of medium sized scones, so make sure you have enough people to eat them! There are ten people in our household and it takes us 3 to 5 days to eat them all.

1 envelope active dry yeast
1/4 cup lukewarm water
1 quart buttermilk
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs, beaten
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
8-9 cups flour
oil for frying

Sprinkle yeast over warm water. Warm buttermilk (careful not to overheat, as it can seperate. Warning, it stinks while heating). Add sugar, eggs, butter, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Stir in yeast mixture. Beat in 4 cups flour. Continue to beat until smooth and well mixed. Stir in enough flour to make soft dough. Knead until smooth and elastic. Cover, put in warm place (I prefer my oven) and allow to rise until double in bulk. Punch down. The dough will keep for three days in fridge, just be sure to punch it down daily.

Heat 1-2 inches of oil in a deep pan to 375°F. Pinch out some dough and roll in hands into a ball about 1 to 1 1/2 inches diameter. Then pull flat until dough is almost see through. Place in oil and fry until scone puffs up and is lightly browned. Turn and brown opposite side. How many you can fit at once depends on your pan and how big you're making the scones. Drain on paper towels. Serve warm.

Omelets

eggs (1-3, depending on preference)
pancake batter, 1 tsp. per egg
a dash of water
toppings of choice (we like shredded cheese and cooked ground sausage)

Mix water, eggs and pancake batter. Coat non-stick pan with Pam (or equivalent). Heat to just above medium, but not quite medium high. Pour egg mixture into pan and swirl so that egg mixture is spread over the bottom of the pan evenly and in a circle (so much easier if the pan is circular). Place toppings of choice on one half of the circle. When egg is dry on edges and puffed up, fold in half. Let sit for a few minutes, but watch closely so it doesn’t burn. Then flip over. Once egg is completely cooked, remove from pan and serve (we like them with grits).

WHAT I LEARNED
I had always had a hard time with omelets. But I have finally gotten it down. First, we got me a pan that is specifically for omelets. It is non-stick and the round bottom is perfect for a 2-3 egg omelet. Then I got a spatula that is flexible and very thin, making it easier to slide up under the omelet without tearing the egg. With these, my omelets were getting better, but never right. One day we were at the local IHOP and I was perusing the menu when something caught my eye. They said that they put pancake batter in their omelets! So I tried it the very next day, and after some experimenting have found that it seems to work best to mix in one teaspoon of pancake batter per egg. It makes the omelets puff up so nicely, and they’re LOADS easier to flip now.