2010 Here We Come/Fresh Cranberry Scones

 

How exciting to start a new decade, 'twenty ten' is fun to say, It has got to be a great year. It is trendy to have a 'word of the year'; something meaningful and motivating. I thought of several possible choices--kind of like thinking of a name for your new baby, I liked 'create', 'simplify', 'joy', 'patience' or 'complete'. All are great choices but after considerable thought my word for the year 2010 is 'bless', as in how blessed I am and how I can bless others. I am excited to see this word come to life as I ponder its meaning.

Last week I had a difficult day, too many worries about people I love. Too little I can actually do to solve the problems. I know a possible antidote for worry is service; so I went to work. It was the birthday of a dear friend, I made a yummy batch of Ginger Cookies and cooled them quickly outside. At 12 degrees cookies cool in minutes. I dipped the cookies in white chocolate--it was a birthday cookie after all. The cookies were wrapped in cellophane and tied with a bow. A cheery birthday note was written and the package was delivered to the birthday girl.

Did my problems disappear? Not really, but can I tell you how much better I felt! It is good to bless others with service. Mother Theresa said, 'We can do no great things: only small things with great love. Happy are those.'

Yes, this is a cooking blog--mostly. I have the best scone recipe to share with you. What is a scone? It can be fried bread dough served with chili as in a Navajo Taco, sorry you probably won't find that recipe on this blog. To me a scone is for breakfast/brunch. It is a deliciously tender, rich bite of heaven.

This scone recipe is loaded with cranberries and lemon zest.. A food processor makes this a snap to make, don't overmix, handle gently and you will have a tasty treat worth getting up for. Scones need to be eaten warm from the oven which is easy to do. Make a batch, bake off a few for today, flash freeze the uncooked scones, store in freezer bags and they are ready when you are. Fresh scones are just minutes away, make a batch, freeze a few. It really does work!

This recipe is from Smitten Kitchen, one of my favorite cooking blogs. Enjoy!

 Fresh Cranberry Scones
1 1/2 tablespoons freshly grated lemon zest
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar plus 3 tablespoons
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, cut into bits
1 1/4 cups fresh cranberries, chopped coarse
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 cup heavy cream

Preheat oven to 400°F. and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a food processor pulse flour, 1/2 cup sugar, baking powder, salt, butter and zest until mixture resembles coarse meal, transfer to a large bowl.
In a small bowl toss together fresh cranberries and 3 tablespoons sugar and stir into flour mixture.
In another small bowl lightly beat egg and yolk and stir in cream. Add egg mixture to flour mixture and stir until just combined.
On a well-floured surface with floured hands pat dough into a 1-inch-thick round (about 8 inches in diameter) and with a 2-inch round cutter dipped in flour cut out as many rounds as possible, rerolling scraps as necessary. Arrange rounds about 1 inch apart on baking sheet and bake in middle of oven 15 to 20 minutes, or until pale golden. Scones may be flash frozen before baking and stored in a freezer bag. Place frozen scones on parchment lined baking sheet and bake a few extra minutes.
I had to add a couple tablespoons of extra flour. I also served these with a drizzle of lemon glaze. A 5 star recipe for sure!