Buttermilk Cranberry Scones

I don’t have much experience making scones, aside from the really delicious ones courtesy of Nurse Liz, but those are easy as they take cream and not incorporating bits of butter. BUT! I was in the mood and I’d had this recipe bookmarked in my internet browser for like a zillion years so I figured, why not give it a try? I have to say, it was really simple to do and the results were delicious! I only changed the recipe slightly in that I added orange zest instead of lemon zest since that’s what I had at home, but things like that are relatively interchangeable anyway. Citrus always makes things better in my opinion!  Give them a try! They come out light yet kind of flaky and not too sweet, just the way scones ought to be in my opinon!

Buttermilk Cranberry Scones

2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into small chunks
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 large egg
1/3 cup sweetened dried cranberries, chopped fine  I added a bit more as I like a lot of stuff in my scones)
finely grated zest from one small lemon (about 2 teaspoons) (you can use zest from an orange too!)
heavy cream (optional, for brushing tops of scones)

Method:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

In a medium bowl, whisk or sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, soda and salt.  Add butter chunks and toss lightly with flour; place bowl in fridge.

In a small bowl, whisk together egg, buttermilk, and lemon zest; place bowl in fridge.  Measure out and chop the cranberries; set aside. Line a baking sheet with parchment or lightly spray with cooking spray; set aside. Lightly dust a counter top with flour.  Pour a little bit of heavy cream in a bowl and have a pastry brush handy.

Remove bowls of flour and buttermilk from fridge.  Cut butter into flour with a pastry blender or rub together with your fingertips until it resembles coarse crumbs. Add cranberries and stir to combine.   Add buttermilk mixture all at once to flour mixture and stir until the mixture clumps together.

Dump mixture out onto floured counter top and, with floured hands, gather into a ball and knead once or twice to combine everything.  Pat into a circle about 1/2 inch thick.  Cut into 8 slices, like a pie, or cut with biscuit or cookie cutters into whatever shape you prefer.  Put scones on lined baking sheet and brush lightly with heavy cream (optional).

Bake in a preheated 425 degree oven for 13-15 minutes until lightly browned.  Remove to cooling rack. Try not to eat them all in one sitting!!

About these ads