Whole Wheat Raspberry Ricotta Scones

Ohhhhh yes! Another scone recipe! This one actually came to me from my dear friend A., who, knowing of my recent scone obsession, was thoughtful enough to send me this one. And unbeknownst to her, it just so happens that the ingredients languishing in my dwindling pre-move fridge are yes: whole wheat flour, raspberries, ricotta cheese, and heavy cream! Does the baking world get more cosmic than this? I would argue: it does not. Thanks A!

I broke with my scone habits and baked these fresh. I didn't have quite enough raspberries, but I did have an arbitrary pear. So I mashed up the raspberries so they were throughout the whole dough, not in pieces, and used the pear for the "chunky" fruit. So for me they were really more pear scones than raspberry but I think the raspberry would be delicious too in larger quantity. Pear really should be used more often! I loved these warm with the pear. And the ricotta cheese was wonderful with the wheat, unlike buttermilk-wheat which I have turned against.

This recipe comes from the Smitten Kitchen:

http://smittenkitchen.com/2011/07/whole-wheat-raspberry-ricotta-scones/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+smittenkitchen+%28smitten+kitchen%29

Ingredients:

1 C. whole wheat flour

1 C. all-purpose flour

1 T. baking powder, preferably aluminum-free

1/4 C. granulated sugar

1/2 tsp. table salt

6 T. cold unsalted butter

1 C. fresh raspberries

3/4 C. whole milk ricotta

1/3 C. heavy cream

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. In the bottom of a large, wide-ish bowl, whisk flours, baking powder, sugar and salt together.

With a pastry blender: Add the butter (no need to chop it first) and use the blender to both cut the butter into the flour mixture until the biggest pieces are the size of small peas. Toss in raspberries and use the blender again to break them into halves and quarter berry sized chunks.

Without a pastry blender: Cut the butter into small pieces with a knife and work the butter into the flour mixture with your fingertips until the mixture resembles a coarse meal. Roughly chop the raspberries on a cutting board and stir them into the butter-flour mixture.

Both methods: Add the ricotta and heavy cream together and stir them in to form a dough with a flexible spatula.Using your hands, gently knead dough into an even mass, right in the bottom of the bowl. Don’t fret if the raspberries get muddled and smudge up the dough. This is a pretty thing.

With as few movements as possible, transfer the dough to a well-floured counter, flour the top of the dough and pat it into a 7-inch square about 1-inch tall. With a large knife, divide the dough into 9 even squares. Transfer the scones to prepared baking sheet with a spatula. Bake the scones for about 15 minutes, until lightly golden at the edges. Cool in pan for a minute, then transfer to a cooling rack. It’s best to cool them about halfway before eating them, so they can set a bit more.

Do ahead: Scones are always best the day they are baked. However, if you wish to get a lead on them, you can make them, arrange them on your parchment-lined sheet and freeze them. If you’re prepping just one day in advance, cover the tray with plastic wrap and bake them the day you need them. If you’re preparing them more than one day in advance, once they are frozen, transfer them to a freezer bag or container. Bring them back to a parchment-lined sheet when you’re ready to bake them. No need to defrost the froze, unbaked scones, just add 2 to 3 minutes to your baking time.