Petite Vanilla Bean Scones

Have you ever had Starbucks Petite Vanilla Bean Scones?  Man, those little suckers are good.  They're pretty cheap (for Starbucks), and are small, a nice little size to go along with coffee when you know that you don't really need anything to eat.

At about the same time that I discovered Starbucks Petite Vanilla Bean Scones, I discovered Pioneer Woman's Petite Vanilla Bean Scones.  Yay!  I can make them at home in as long as it would take me to drive to Starbucks, and do it without using up my $4 gas!

I admit, mine aren't as pretty.  I might try to fix that next time, but they taste really good!  In fact after I made these, I had a Starbucks one and was disappointed that it didn't taste as good as mine!  (Well, Pioneer Woman's, but you know...)

PW walks you through the recipe here.  Her pictures and explanations are amazing and I probably don't need to try to improve on that.

Some things you might like to know, though:
1.)  Vanilla beans are expensive.  I mean, like, sell your children to be able to afford them expensive.  I didn't want to sell my children, so I got a hold of this vanilla bean paste from Amazon.com.  It adds all the real vanilla awesomeness without making these scones cost $26 to make.  And it stretches a lot farther.

2.)  You can make these by hand (by "cutting in" the butter into the flour with knives), or in a food processor.  But my favorite method is to freeze the butter for about 10 minutes before I start, and then to grate the butter into the flour using a cheese grater.  From that point on I move quickly to keep the butter very cold.

3.)  See how mine are shaped funny?  When I put them in the oven, they were perfect little triangles, but they slid to the side while baking and became little pyramids.  Next time, I'll try freezing them for 30 minutes after they are shaped before I bake them.  If that doesn't work, no problem, they taste really good!

Here's the recipe:
Petite Vanilla Bean Scones
Makes 18 very small scones

1 1/2 cups flour
1/3 cups sugar (I think I'll try 1/4 cup next time)
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 stick butter, frozen 10 minutes
1/2 egg (I whisk an egg in a bowl, and pour 1/2 out using the whisk to stop the flow)
6 tbsp. buttermilk
1 vanilla bean, split and scraped, or 1 tsp. vanilla extract, or 2 tsp. vanilla bean paste

Glaze:
1 3/4 cup powdered sugar
4 tbsp. milk
dash salt
1 vanilla bean, split and scraped, or 1 tsp. vanilla extract, or 2 tsp. vanilla bean paste

In a medium bowl, whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.  Grate in butter with a cheese grater.  (Alternatively, cut it in using knives or a food processor until it resembles wet sand.)  In a small bowl, whisk together the egg, buttermilk, and vanilla.  Pour it into the flour mixture.  Toss lightly.  Dump out onto a floured board.  Knead it a little to help it stick together.  Shape it into a square that's about 1 inch thick.  Cut the square into 9 squares (3x3).  Cut each of those smaller squares diagonally into a small triangle.  Arrange on a large baking sheet covered with parchment paper.  Freeze for 30 minutes.  Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Bake 15-20 minutes until lightly golden.  Remove to a wire rack to cool.  Mix together the glaze ingredients. (They should be very runny; add milk if necessary.)  Dunk the scones in the glaze to cover completely.  Let harden on a wire rack (set over a baking sheet to catch the drips) before serving.