As a consumer of cookbooks, there is nothing that irks me more than cookbook recipes that don’t work. As a cookbook author, there’s nothing worse than discovering that one of your published
The first tip-off that the recipe was off was that there were no peaches listed in the ingredients. The second, perhaps bigger problem was that the instructions said to bake the scones for 15 minutes, not nearly long enough. The correct baking time is 35 minutes. Additionally, there was some confusing language about how much cream to use when and how to handle the finished dough.
Readers also alerted me to a small error in another recipe. The recipe for Classic Wine-Braised Beef Stew with Vegetables was missing the oven temperature (350ºF). The book has been out for two months and no other errors have been discovered. I am confident that the rest of the recipes are correct as written.
I replied to the readers who contacted me as quickly as I could and notified my publisher right away. The good news is that the publisher assured me that they could fix the errors on the first reprint. And since they do frequent small print runs, this wouldn’t be too far off. The bad news is that some readers got frustrated, and for
Following is a corrected version of the Candied Ginger Peach Scones recipe. The recipe is quick and easy to make. Candied, or crystallized, ginger lends intriguing flavor and sweet, juicy peaches keep the scones moist and balance the ginger’s kick. These are golden brown on the top with a crisp shell, thanks to the great heat-conduction abilities of cast iron. These are going to disappear quickly (hint: you might want to make 2 batches!)
Candied Ginger Peach Scones
Ingredients
- 2 ¼ cups unbleached pastry flour or unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 ½ sticks 6 ounces unsalted butter, cut into small pieces and chilled
- Finely grated lemon zest from about ½ lemon 1 teaspoon
- 1 cup diced peaches
- 2/3 cup chopped candied ginger
- ¾ cup plus 1 tablespoon heavy cream divided
- 2 tablespoons raw or Turbinado sugar for sprinkling
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400ºF.
- Using a hand-held electric mixer, stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or a food processor fitted with the steel blade combine the flour, sugar, and baking powder and process to mix. Add the butter and lemon zest and pulse until the mixture resembles a fine meal.
- In a large bowl, stir the ginger and peaches into the flour and butter mixture. Add ¾ cup of the cream and stir gently until combined.
- Transfer the dough to a 10-inch cast-iron skillet and pat it out until it covers the bottom of the skillet in an even layer.
- Brush the top with the remaining tablespoon of cream and then sprinkle the raw sugar over the top.
- Bake in the preheated oven for about 35 minutes, until the top begins to brown. Let cool in the pan for a few minutes before slicing into wedges. Serve warm or at room temperature.
This is the nightmare I live with too – it is amazing what happens during the editing phase of writing a cookbook. This recipe looks divine and I can’t wait to make it!