Although Utah’s legislature has proclaimed Jell-O to be the state’s official snack food, the scone, in our opinion, would be more appropriate. Not that Utahans don’t eat a large amount of Jell-O, but so do folks in Maine, Kansas, and California. Nowhere else do people eat scones like those served in Utah.
Exactly why it is called a scone remains a mystery, since it is nothing like the dense Scottish quick bread that has become a familiar coffee companion in caffeine stations around the country. In fact, it most resembles (and is no doubt a descendant of) the sopaipilla of New Mexico and the Navajo fry bread found throughout the Southwest. A puffy, deep-fried pillow of sweet yeast dough that develops a slightly crisp skin around airy insides, a scone is served hot from the kettle, accompanied by a pitcher or squeeze bottle of honey. Utah’s modern scone shops offer them dolloped with jelly and jam and even a la moded with ice cream.