Cranberry Scones

Still marching on through Annie's scone recipes. So far, so good (although I wasn't a huge huge fan of the strawberry scones.)

These scones Annie recommends making at Thanksgiving time and freezing (of course!) and then baking for breakfast the morning after. Why not? She also notes that you can use lemon or orange zest in the recipe equally well. I used lemon. Also a very sticky dough that will probably have to sit in the freezer for a good old time before being sectioned.

Originally from Smitten Kitchen, by way of Annie's Eats:

http://annies-eats.net/2010/11/02/cranberry-scones/

Ingredients:

1½ T. freshly grated lemon zest

2½ C. all-purpose flour

½ C. plus 3 T. sugar, divided

1 T. baking powder

½ tsp. salt

6 T. cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

1¼ C. fresh or frozen cranberries, coarsely chopped (I used frozen and just chopped each berry in half)

1 large egg plus 1 large egg yolk

1 cup heavy cream

Additional sugar for sprinkling

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400˚ F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.

2. In a food processor*, combine the lemon zest, flour, ½ cup of sugar, baking powder and salt. Pulse briefly to blend. Add in the cold butter pieces and pulse again briefly until the mixture resembles coarse meal and the butter pieces are no larger than peas. Transfer to a medium mixing bowl.

3. In a small bowl, toss together the chopped cranberries and remaining 3 tablespoons sugar. Stir this into the flour-butter mixture.

4. In another small bowl or a liquid measuring cup, combine the egg, egg yolk and heavy cream; whisk to blend. Add the liquid ingredients to the bowl with the dry ingredients and stir gently with a spatula or wooden spoon just until all the dry ingredients are moistened. Knead gently to be sure the dough is evenly mixed, being careful not to overwork the dough.

5. Place a 2½- or 3-inch round biscuit cutter on the lined baking sheet. Scoop some of the dough inside the cutter and pat down gently to form a 1-inch thick round. Repeat with the remaining dough, placing the rounds 2-3 inches apart on the baking sheet.** Sprinkle lightly with additional sugar.

(To freeze before baking, flash freeze at this point. Place the baking sheet with the shaped scones into the freezer and chill until frozen. Transfer to a freezer-safe plastic bag and store until ready to bake.)

5. Bake in the preheated oven until light golden brown, about 15-20 minutes. (If baking from the freezer, add approximately 5 minutes to the original baking time.)

*Note from Annie: A food processor is not required for this recipe. You can achieve the same result using a stand mixer, a pastry blender, or even just two knives. I like the food processor because it is quick and easy, but all methods work equally well.

**Note from Annie: There are many different ways to shape scones. You can pat the dough into one large disc and slice into triangular wedges, roll it out and cut with a biscuit cutter, use a dough scoop and simply make drop scones, etc. Do whatever you prefer. I like this method for this particular scone dough because the dough is sticky and this prevents overworking.