Baking club is back for the new year and first up was scones. I have always loved to bake as have many of my friends, there is something very therapeutic about the stirring and kneading, the smells that fill the kitchen and the warmth of the oven.

I suppose that for many the whole experience is reminiscent of hours spent at mother’s or grandma’s apron strings, helping to bake cakes for special occasions or scones for Sunday tea. The whole process conjures up many warm memories and that is a precious thing.

The only thing better than baking is baking with friends, we make quite the afternoon of it, we drink tea, we chat, and exchange stories of baking successes and disasters and we laugh, we laugh a lot. It almost feels like we are in a school cookery lesson, trying not to get caught licking the spoon.

This week we made scones, they can be tricky, the key is to treat the dough with respect, be gentle with it and keep it cool, if you do this you will have scones fit for afternoon tea with the queen.

Our scones were a complete success and tasted delicious when filled with cream and jam and served up to all our friends for tea.

There is no downside to baking, the process gives us a warm fuzzy feeling inside, the cooking gives us time for a cuppa and a chat and then we get to eat and everyone in the home gets to enjoy that part. In fact, I suppose the only downside is the washing up, but we don’t have to concern ourselves with that, we do feel a little guilty handing over the dirty bowls and spoons to the kitchen team, but they assure us that it is no bother and who are we to argue.