Ingredients
3 cups self raising flour
¼ teaspoon salt
50g cold butter, cut into small pieces
¾ cup chopped dates
1 cup milk, plus extra for brushing
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon rind
Method
Preheat oven to 210ºC. Line a baking tray with baking paper.
Sift flour and salt into a bowl. Rub butter into flour using clean fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Stir the dates through the flour, then make a ‘well’ in the centre.
In a separate deep bowl or jug place milk, honey and lemon rind and whisk together until combined. Pour this mixture into the ‘well’ in the flour mixture and gently stir with a rounded knife until a moist dough forms. At this stage a little more flour might need to be added – scone dough should be moist, but manageable. Roll the dough out onto a board lined with greaseproof paper and gently pat down until about 2cm to 3cm thick (it’s not necessary to knead the dough).
Using a 5cm round scone cutter dipped in flour, cut into rounds. Place rounds on prepared baking tray, leaving a small space between each one. Any scone dough scraps can be lightly kneaded together to make more scones. Brush tops of scones lightly with milk.
Bake 10-12 minutes, or until lightly golden on top. Place on a wire rack to cool.
Note: Oven temperature and cooking time can be adjusted to suit your oven.