Preheat oven to 400F/204C and line a baking sheet with parchment paper; alternatively grease a baking sheet with butter.

Cut the butter into 1/4 inch pieces, and put it in the refrigerator for about a half an hour to completely chill. Measure out dry ingredients, dried fruit, etc., and put that in the refrigerator as well.

Take the chilled butter and dry ingredients, including dry fillings and put them in the bowl of your food processor. Process until you see pea-sized bits of flour and butter. Add the milk and process until it forms a nice ball.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.

Toss butter into the dry ingredients until coated with flour. Working quickly and using your fingers or a pastry blender, rub or cut butter into flour until it resembles coarse meal.

Add milk and stir with a fork until it just comes together into a slightly sticky, shaggy dough.

Take the dough out of the bowl and put it on a floured work surface. The dough might be sticky, so flour your hands as well. Bring the dough into a ball and flatten it out. You should have something that looks like a pillbox hat. Turn the dough a few times to get it started. Have ready a sharp knife or good dough cutter. Cut the dough in half, then cut each half in half, and so on until you have eight pieces. Put the pieces on the prepared baking sheet.

You can brush the scones with an egg wash, and if they are sweet, you can sprinkle a little sugar on them.

Bake them for 15 to 20 minutes or until they are nicely browned. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack until they are cool enough to eat. Serve with butter and enjoy!