Winter Scones: Date & Bacon w/ Maple Icing

It's winter, it's grey, it's cold.
I am hibernating, I don't know about you.

No one is seeing me in a bathing suit for a few months, so why not have some comfort food.
Don't deny me.

One scone is not going to kill me.
Or will it?

These are worth the gamble.

I had this large container of heavy cream in my fridge leftover from the holidays.
Spill it out? or bake some scones.

I had dates in the house, and bacon can always be found in my freezer, so scones it would be.

I made Eileen's date scones, but added bacon and brushed with the bacon fat........then to gild the lily (as if these needed more gilding!!!), I drizzled with a maple icing, 'cause maple, bacon and sticky dates are meant to be together.

These freeze nicely, so you can take them out as needed.

These are my #1 favorite scones, I hope you try them. They will take away the winter blues, if you have them.

Date & Bacon Scones w/ Maple Icing:

2 1/4 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cubed
1 cup chopped pitted dates
1/4 lb. bacon, fried crisp and crumbled (reserve some of the bacon grease for brushing)
1 1/2 cups heavy cream, plus more for brushing
Turbinado sugar, for sprinkling

Maple icing:

1 cup of confectioners sugar
1 tbsp maple syrup
1 tbsp milk

Whisk up the icing with a fork and set aside.

You can use a food processor to make your dough, or be stubborn like me, and use your hands.

Add little cold bits of the butter, the size of peas to the flour and work with your hands to incorporate the butter. You can also just pulse in a food processor until a dough comes together.

Add in the rest of the ingredients. Incorporate the dates and crumbled cooked bacon, adding in the cream last. The dough will be sticky and might be hard to work with, but stick with it (no pun intended)......just wet your hands to knead it, then flatten it out on a floured surface.

Transfer the disc to a parchment or silpat lined baking sheet. Using a sharp knife, cut into 8 pieces.
Brush with some lefotver bacon grease. You heard me.

Sprinkle with turbinado sugar and bake for 30 minutes in a 375F.

Separate with the same large knife and transfer to a cooling rack.

Ice if you wish, and I wish.