RECIPE: Lemon Cranberry Scones

This morning I had a little extra uninterrupted time, so to celebrate I decided to bake something. For me, baking is recreation. The time it requires, not to mention the butter and sugar, makes it feel like a decadent luxury.

Since I was planning to go to church this morning, I could indulge in baking without eating the results all by myself. These lemony cranberry scones were shared at coffee hour after the service, though the ones in the picture above were set aside to enjoy here at home over the next few days.

Heavy cream the recipe calls for is not something I usually keep in the house. I did a search online and found a heavy cream substitute recipe that worked just fine, made from 3/4 cup milk and 2/3 c melted butter stirred together. I just added enough extra milk to make the 1 1/4 cup called for in the recipe below.

If you've never made scones before, you can watch the method in a video on gourmet.com, the only remnant of dear departed magazine, shut down last fall by Conde Naste Publishing, much to the disappointment of many. [I'm still sad about this loss. It was my only magazine subscription, always a delight to look through each month when it arrived. They tried sending me a few issues of Bon Appetit magazine in its place, but it just wasn't the same.] The original recipe for Dried Fruit Cream Scones, which I modified to create this recipe, is available on the Gourmet Magazine website. Both of these are now only accessible to registered users, but sign up is free, worthwhile, and doesn't require a divulgence of personal information in exchange.

I've listed quantities for this recipe that usually work. This morning, though, high humidity made the dough extra sticky. I stirred in extra handfuls of flour until the proper texture was reached. The resulting batch was not as fluffy and tender as they are under other circumstances. Even so, they were all eaten by friends conversing in summer sunshine on the church's freshly painted front steps or in the cool shade of the entryway.

LEMON CRANBERRY SCONES

• 2 c all-purpose flour, plus additional for processing cranberries & dusting kneading board
• 1 Tbs baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 c sugar
• zest of 1 lemon
• 3/4 c dried cranberries
• 1 1/4 c heavy cream (or milk/melted butter substitute cooled to room temperature)

GLAZE

• 2 Tbs butter, melted
• 3 Tbs sugar

1) Preheat even to 425F. Use an ungreased baking sheet or line it with baker's parchment.

2) Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Stir in lemon zest and set aside for at least 15 minutes to infuse dry ingredients with lemon flavor.

3) Chop cranberries tossed with 1 Tbs flour in food processor to desired size. Flour prevents dried fruit from sticking.

4) Stir heavy cream into dry ingredients to combine, until a rough, sticky mass begins to form. Do not over stir or scones will be tougher.

5) Flour a board and transfer the dough to it. Knead the dough 8-9 times, then pat into a square or rectangle about 1/2 inch thick.

6) For the glaze, still working on the board, brush top of dough with melted butter. Sprinkle evenly with sugar.

7) Cut the rectangle horizontally and vertically to make a 4x4 grid of 16 pieces. Cut these diagonally to form 32 small wedges. Alternately, pat the dough into a 10 inch circle, glaze and cut into 12 larger wedges.

8) Place wedges on baking sheet(s), allowing about 1/2 inch between small wedges. For larger wedges, allow up to 1 inch. Bake until light golden brown, about 15 minutes.

(c)2010 Kay Pere~Effusive Muse Publishing