Albion Manor Scones

love scones. I have never eaten a scone I didn't love, and I've eaten lots.
But this scone recipe is by far my favorite. The resulting bit of heaven is light, delicately tangy, and takes to butter, cream, or jam as though they were made for one another (and indeed, they are!). Of course, it doesn't hurt that the B&B that developed this recipe (Albion Manor), shares my name. There is an obvious bias because of that, but still, -believe me! these are excellent scones.
Here is the recipe, which I originally found on this website, quite by accident. I took the liberty of re-writing it, because I found the original version to be less than straightforward.
Enjoy!

Albion Manor Scones

3 cups sifted flour
1/2 cup sugar
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup chilled butter

1 cup butter milk (I use ¾ cup milk + ¼ cup lemon juice)
1 egg

Beat together milk and egg.

Mix the dry things together. Add butter and rub in with your fingers (as you would when making pie crust).

Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. If the dough is way too sticky, mix in a bit more flour. Carefully- the dough will be a bit sticky, but you should be able to get it out of the bowl. You can't add more liquid and you musn't overwork the dough. Sprinkle a bit of flour onto a surface and press out the dough. Don’t work it too much. Use your cooker cutter, any shape, or a glass with straight sides, dipping it into flour between each use and put the scones on a baking tray. Brush with a beaten egg.

Bake at 400 degrees for 12 – 16 minutes (should be cooked through and golden brown in colour).

You may add whatever you want to add to the scones: pecans, currents, cranberries, ginger, lemon or orange zest, etc. A fun addition is to dip sugar cubes into orange juice and press them into the top just before putting them in the oven.