Almond Cranberry scones



Every morning I have a pretty constant routine (be it 6am on my week off or 6pm of the work week). Wake up, lay in bed and think of a reason to get out of bed, remember that I get to eat again, and then make my way downstairs. Once the coffee is brewed and breakfast prepared, I turn on the Today program.  I love the Today program.  This week I have been unable to watch this program or really any news or talk-show.   Why?  William and Kate…they are everywhere and I am slightly annoyed.  

Maybe its because I think it should be a more private affair, or that the 34million could be spent on so many other things, or that I don’t know what fabric type could cost $400,000 (cost of wedding dress!!!), or maybe its because I am jealous of all the above?!  (all my facts came from a morning radio show….see its infiltrated even the country radio station!)   So I am not going to be watching on Friday morning and will only see her gown on the front of People at the grocery checkout.  However, while I boycott this viewing, I don’t want to be left out (I feel conflicted) so instead of watching, I decided to celebrate the event by baking scones.  What could be more British?

I have made and enjoyed many a scone in my lifetime.  Heavier than a cookie but sweeter than a biscuit.  Its a great treat any time of the day.  I mean the British really have something here.   I compiled all my scone recipes from various sources and tried to figure out the ingredient proportions.  This is not easy and I found it frustrating, but I fumbled along.  I mean is there a reference out there describing the basic proportions needed for cookies, cakes, bread, etc…I would love to trial and error the proportions of dry to wet ingredients, and 1 egg vs 2 eggs, etc…but my food budget is not unlimited, plus what would I do with all that food!?  So, I am reduced down to looking at other’s recipes and altering small things here and there to make them feel like my own (when I know they’re not since I haven’t put as much work and effort into changing them as their test kitchens have spent in creating them…to have a test kitchen!) OK done dreaming…

After studying these recipes, I figured I could create my own ( cocky I know…).  I made them with the basic ingredients; butter, cream, baking powder, sugar, flour, along with dried fruit and chocolate.  They came out pretty good, but definately needed some tweaks.  They resembled and tasted more like biscuits than scones.  So I went back to the drawing board and recipe pile and changed some things, mainly increasing sweetness among other things.  This result is much better and full of flavor (what was lacking in the first batch).    If you would like other scone recipes, I gained most of my information from foodnetwork.com and allrecipes.com.

Ingredients

(Makes 8 LARGE scones for 8 HUNGRY people)

• 3 Cups all-purpose flour
• 1 Cup granulated white sugar + plus extra for topping
• 1 Tablespoon baking powder (make sure its not outdated…fresher the better)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 12 Tablespoons of unsalted butter (1+1/2 sticks) – cold and diced
• 1+1/4 Cup heavy cream (calorie free kind – ha!)
• 1 Cup dried cranberries
• 1/2 Cup toasted almond slivers (toss in skillet over medium heat for a couple of minutes until slightly brown – watch carefully not to burn, let cool before adding to mixture)
• 1/2 Cup chocolate chips (milk, dark, semi-sweet…your choice here – I like dark with cranberries)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375°F
2. Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, lemon zest in large bowl.
3. Cut in chilled butter with pastry blender, hands, or stand mixer using paddle attachment (what I used this time around).  Butter should be pea-sized when finished. 
4. Mix in heavy cream until the dough begins to come together. – Don’t over work.
5. Mix in cooled almonds, dried cranberries, chocolate chips. 
6. Empty out onto a floured surface and shape into a round disk
7. Roll dough out to 1 inch thickness.  Roll it into a circle and cut it into triangles or use a biscuit cutter for round ones – be creative!
8. Place on a baking sheet and sprinkle with sugar.  I like to line mine with parchment paper (easier clean up) 
9. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes until golden brown.
10. Cool on wire rack or eat right away with a nice pat of butter 🙂

* The dough can be made, refrigerated, and baked off when needed, say for breakfast the next morning (wrap tightly and use within 1 day of making). 

*Baked scones can be frozen – wrap tightly/airtight.

*To reheat loosely wrap scones in aluminium foil and heat at 250°F for 5-10 minutes if scones are at room temperature or refrigerated, heat at 350°F for 15 – 20 minutes if frozen. (Information gained from Simply Scones).

Oh and my tulips have bloomed!