I was getting a little bored with the book I am currently reading. It takes place in England, around 1910.  There was a scene described where the housekeeper calls the family children to afternoon tea. One of the kids wouldn't come until his sister told him that the housekeeper made Rock Buns. As soon as he heard that, he came running for his afternoon snack.

I was intrigued. What the heck is a rock bun?  I decided to google it and discovered that they are a common tea time treat in Great Britain.  They are very similar to a scone and incredibly easy to make.  The traditional English way to make it is with the addition to dried fruit, so I added raisins to mine. I also threw in some coconut.   Once you have the basic recipe, I imagine you could add in almost anything that you would add to a scone....dried strawberries (not fresh...too soggy), chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, dried blueberries (again...not fresh), dried cherries, lemon zest, etc.

They came out delicious. I left them on a plate in the kitchen, and by the end of the day they were almost all gone.

Rock Buns
Makes 6 rock buns


2 cups all purpose flour, sifted
½ cup soft margarine
½ cup brown sugar
4 Tbsps. raisins
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 medium eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 tsps. milk
½ cup shredded coconut

1. Preheat oven at 360°F / 190°C. Grease baking sheet.
2. Using the finger tips, rub fat into sifted flour until mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
3. Add sugar, raisins, baking powder and coconut, mix in evenly.
4. Beat eggs and vanilla. Pour into flour mixture and combine then add milk slowly.
5. Combine mixture with the hands until a moist dough is formed.
6. With a spoon and a fork, divide dough into six equal pieces and shape each piece into a “rocky cone” on the greased baking tray.
(Although the recipe doesn’t call for it at this point I sprinkle the buns generously with brown sugar  )
7. Bake for 15 minutes or until done.