Baking Scones: A Feminine Pursuit For Men

Now don't get me wrong here, I know that plenty of commercial bakers are men, and that plenty of men bake, but you stand there and tell me that there isn't a sort of stereotypical picture of a lady in the kitchen making scones for afternoon tea and I'll tell you that your cultural indoctrination is yet to be completed.

I was thinking about all this business about men wearing women's clothes, and then it struck me. What will you do once you are all dressed up? After all, if you're all trussed up in a skirt or dress, you can't very well go and get it dirty clambering under the car to bleed the sprockets, can you?

Instead, why not add to the feminine play and do something stereotypically feminine? If you don't like the idea of baking, then I suggest you do some of the ironing. If you happen to already have a female partner, if she is smart she will soon come around to the idea of you wearing women's clothing if it means that she doesn't have to wash and iron anymore.

But this hub is about baking scones. I highly recommend baking, not only is it a fairly primal way to create food, but it may help you get in touch with the feminine side of yourself that always wanted an Easy Bake oven but had to be satisfied with yet another garish yellow Tonka truck that your sister probably stole off you anyway.

So men, wrap on your aprons (they're like a skirt, only slightly more sociably acceptable,) and get down to making this quick and easy cheese scone recipe. It only takes ten minutes, creates six lovely scones and makes the perfect accompaniment to a dainty cup of tea.

Ingredients You Will Need:

1 cup flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon butter
1/3 cup milk
1/2 cup grated cheese

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 220 degrees Celsius. (Or whatever that might be in your newfangled American rebellion system of counting that makes no sense and abhors base 10. It's 430 according to Google, if you can trust them.)
• Sift dry ingredients.
• Rub in butter. This means breaking the butter up with your fingertips and rubbing it into the dry ingredients until you get a breadcrumb like texture. It's actually quite a lot of fun. Add your grated cheese.
• Make a pit in the middle of the mixture and add the milk. Mix the mixture about as you add the milk to make sure it gets mixed in well.
• Dump the dough onto a board and knead it lightly.
• Roll it out (or poke it out with your hands if you don't have a rolling pin. Who has a rolling pin these days? The madness!) and cut it into six pieces.
• Place your six pieces on a well greased tray, sprinkle with cheese (Parmesan works well,) and bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until the tops are turning golden brown, but not until they turn black.