Jim Lefevre’s Dropped Griddle Scones (“Girdle Scones”)

Now where did we leave off, last week? The Baked Alaska was a hunka-hunka-burnin’ love, the flames from the Whiskey Punch leapt so high that they threatened to set the house on fire, and my Scottish date (in full kilt … is that a sporran in your pocket, or are you just glad to see me?) was crooning love songs. 

I was going to give you my Flaming Whiskey Punch recipe today, but thought the danger of lawsuits too great! (If someone who spills coffee on himself can successfully sue McDonald’s for not specifically stating that coffee is hot, I’d face serious jail time - and serious remorse - if readers blasted off their eyebrows) 

Instead, let me tell you about my friend, Jim Lefevre. Jim loves to cook, and recently passed along his Pancake recipe - now a staple at our house. When I wrote it up elsewhere on this blog, no one seemed to care. When I added a Porridge recipe (two for the price of one!), you yawned. So I retitled the post, calling it Pancakes, Porridge, and Sex. The readership numbers went nuts. 

I’d love to know Jim’s secret, because his Dropped Griddle Scones are one of the most popular recipes I’ve ever published. Whenever Jim’s children and grandchildren come for a visit to his home in Kelowna, they enjoy his famously delicious Griddle Scones. I made these for breakfast today, and I can vouch for how good they are! Jim laughingly refers to these as “Girdle Scones.” I can see that anyone who eats too many of these delicious treats would most certainly need one!

Jim Lefevre’s Dropped Griddle Scones:

2 c. (250 mL) all-purpose flour

2 tsp. (10 mL) baking powder

¼ (1.25 mL) tsp. salt

¼ tsp. (1.25 mL) baking soda

½ tsp. (2.5 mL) cream of tartar

2 tbsp. (30 mL) sugar

1 tbsp. (20 mL) plus 1 tsp. softened butter 

1-¼ c. (310 mL) milk

Lightly grease large cast iron frying pan or griddle using spray-oil or a small amount of regular oil wiped up with a paper towel. Heat the pan or griddle over the stove, over medium-to-medium low heat. 

Combine dry ingredients well. With clean fingers, rub butter into flour until evenly dispersed. Add milk all at once, stirring just until all ingredients are moistened. Expect the dough to be quite stiff if you use whole milk, and softer if you use nonfat or skim milk. A stiff dough needs more time on the griddle. Plop large spoonfuls of dough onto the griddle. The dough should be approximately ¾-in. to 1-inch thick and about 4 inches in diameter. 

I found this recipe made 5-to-6 dropped scones, which nicely fit my electric griddle. If you cook these on your stove-top, check to ensure they don’t burn or look pasty, adjusting the heat accordingly. With my electric griddle set at 300 deg. F., I “baked” these scones for a short while before checking to see how they were doing. Flip them if you find they’ve browned well after just a few minutes, adjusted the heat as needed. The scones need medium heat to cook through. After 20 minutes, they were done! We ate them hot, slathered with butter and homemade jam. Oh, joy! 

Note: Although I have an actual stove top “griddle” - a flat-surfaced heat slab made of treated cast-iron - I prefer to use the lightweight, $16 electric griddle I bought in a Target store in Oregon. Stored on its side, a griddle takes up no room and offers the perfect temperature control that means you’ll never burn anything.