Scone Recipe

by Judith C Reveal

Just as recently divorced Lindsey Gale begins to bring balance into her personal life, she discovers that her new role as publisher of the Greensboro Press is anything but stable. Lindsey is asked to investigate the death of a friend who had been staying at The Writers’ Bloc, a writers’ retreat located on Maryland’s rustic Eastern Shore. Lindsey reluctantly takes on the assignment and soon finds herself face to face with the retreat’s reclusive owner and noted author, Odious Clay.

Every book I've read this week had characters eating scones. I'm so HUNGRY!

Cranberry Scones Recipe

 

Prep time

15 minutes

 

Cook time

15 minutes

 

Total time

30 minutes

 

Packed with dried cranberries and orange zest, this scones recipe is perfect for entertaining and weekends. When making these, try to use the coldest butter and cream possible.

Yield: 8 scones

You Will Need

• 2 cups (280 grams) all-purpose flour (we use Gold Medal’s unbleached all-purpose flour)
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 5 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
• 1 cup heavy cream, plus 1 tablespoon for tops of scones
• 3 tablespoons honey (substitute 3 tablespoons sugar)
• 1 tablespoon orange zest
• 3/4 cup (100 grams) dried cranberries (substitute rasins, dried cherries or apricots)
• 1 tablespoon coarse sugar (such as raw turbinado sugar)

Directions

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or use a silicon baking mat.
   
2. Prepare Dough: Whisk together flour, baking powder and the salt in a medium bowl. Combine cream, honey and orange zest in a measuring jug. Stir until the honey is completely incorporated into the cream.
   
3. Use a pastry blender or your fingertips to work the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles a coarse meal with a few small crumbles of butter the size of peas. Stir in cranberries. Pour in the honey-cream and use a rubber spatula or fork to mix until a crumbly dough forms, about 30 seconds.
   
4. Transfer the dough and all dry, floury bits to a lightly floured work surface. Knead the dough 3 to 5 times until it just comes together. If kneaded too much, the scones will be tough and flat. Form into an 8-inch circle. Cut into 8 triangles, or use a biscuit cutter.
   
5. Place scones onto the baking sheet, brush with extra cream and lightly sprinkle tops with coarse sugar.
   
6. Bake Scones: Bake scones until light golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Cool at least 10 minutes before serving.
   
7. To Store: Scones are best eaten fresh. If you do have leftovers, your best bet to keeping them fresh is to freeze them. Freeze baked and cooled scones until hard then transfer to resealable plastic bags. Keep up to three weeks. To reheat, bake in a 350 degree F oven until warmed. It shouldn’t take long.
   
8. You can also freeze unbaked scone dough. Chill cut scones in the freezer until firm, and then transfer to resealable plastic bags. Keep up to three weeks. Bake in a 425 degree F oven straight from the freezer. (They may take a few extra minutes).