Monday, January 23, 2012

Lemon Cranberry Scones


I really like lemons. I recently discovered that you can stick a whole lemon in the the freezer to save for later.

Just pull it out, stick it in the microwave and poof, brand new lemon.


 I also really like these scones, or biscuits or whatever you call them. You see in my family, scones were

fried dough with lots of honey butter. But apparently they are also like flavorful biscuits.


While we are on the subject of things I like, let's throw in the color of cranberries. Cranberries are pretty

great too, but their color is just awesome. Here is a recipe that combines all those things I like. They are

delicious. Bring them to work and your coworkers will love you.


Lemon Cranberry Scones 
(Adapted from Smitten Kitchen and Joy the Baker)

1 1/2 tablespoons freshly grated lemon zest
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar plus 3 tablespoons additional if using fresh cranberries
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) cold butter (you can freeze this too), grated on a cheese grater to make flakes
1 1/4 cups fresh cranberries, chopped coarse, or 1 1/4 cups dried cranberries
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 cup heavy cream

Preheat oven to 400°F. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper (not wax paper, wax paper smokes)
Zest lemon with zester or fine side of cheese grater
In a large bowl combine, 1/2 cup sugar, baking powder, salt, butter flakes and zest until mixture is roughly mixed.
In a small bowl toss together fresh cranberries and 3 tablespoons sugar and stir into flour mixture. If using dried fruit, add to flour mixture.
In another small bowl lightly beat egg and yolk and stir in cream. Add egg mixture to flour mixture and stir until just combined.
On a well-floured surface with floured hands pat dough into a 1-inch-thick round and slice however you want. You could cut them out with the rim of a cup, or slice into pizza shapes.
Serve scones warm.