Cranberry Scones

I really, think these should be called Christmas Scones ! That is what they taste like, it's what Mr.G said, right after biting into one...."these taste like christmas". It´s the combination of orange peel, and the tart cranberries...they even look festive. I seldom post recipes, that contain an ingredient, that cannot be bought on the island. This is true of the cranberry, it is not available to us through our grocery stores. These cranberries were a gift. The fact that these turned out so scrumptious,I just had to share. I think cherries, fresh or suger glazed would work really well here. Frozen, raspberries, or blackberries too, would blend in great. Sometimes in the kitchen, you have to, experiment, and make do with things you have on hand, and not be discouraged, by the things we don't have (sounds like a life lesson to me). 

 Cranberry Scones
(from here)

Ingredients:

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon orange zest
1/2 cup unsalted cold butter, cut into small pieces
3/4 cup cream (200ml)
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries (cherries,other berry of choice)

Topping:

2 tablespoons cream or milk
 sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 220/ 425 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl. In a small bowl, rub the sugar and orange zest together with your fingers. Whisk into the flour mixture.

3. Add cold butter pieces to the flour mixture. Cut in butter using a pastry blender, fork, or your hands. I prefer to use my hands. Mix until you have pea size chunks of butter.

4. In a small glass measuring cup, whisk the cream, eggs, and vanilla extract together. Pour over dry ingredients and mix with a spatula until moist. Gently stir in the fresh cranberries. Transfer dough to a floured countertop and knead until dough comes together.

5. Shape dough into a large circle. Use a floured rolling pin to roll out the scone dough. Cut dough into wedges and place on the prepared baking sheet.( I like 8 wedges) Brush each scone with cream/milk and sprinkle generously with  sugar. Bake for 15-17 minutes, or until scones are golden brown. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack.

Glaze : 1 cup icing sugar + enough orange juice, mixed to make a glaze, drizzle over the scones !


xo, Diana