Cranberry Sweetheart Scones with Almond Essence

This was adapted from a Williams-Sonoma recipe in Holiday Baking. I think this is my new go-to scone recipe.

Ingredients:
3 cups of all-purpose flour
1/3 cup plus 2 tbs sugar
1 tbs baking powder
6 tbs chilled butter cut into 12 pieces
1 cup dried cranberries
1 tsp almond extract
1 cup lowfat milk

Directions:
Position rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 400 F
In a large bowl combine sugar, baking powder and flour
Add butter and using fingers or pastry blender crumble until the mixture resembles coarse meal
Add milk and cherries and mix well
Transfer onto flour covered flat surface to cut out into shapes with cookie or biscuit cutter
Cut out as many scones as possible
Sprinkle on remaining 2 tbs sugar
Bake in oven for about 15 minutes
Let cool before serving...

Cranberry, Raisin and Apricot Scones

Soft, flaky, light and fruity these scones are a perfect fall afternoon snack or breakfast. You can substitute any fruit you want, as much or as little, but the cranberry-raisin-apricot combination is one of my favorites!

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups of flour, plus more for rolling and cutting scones
3 Tbs. sugar
2 Tsp baking powder
1/2 Tsp baking soda
1/4 cup butter, cold, cut into pieces
8 oz plain yogurt (I've used vanilla in the past and got the same good results)
1 egg
1/3 cup dried cranberries
1/3 cup dried apricots, cut into pieces
1/3 cup raisins

* In a large bowl stir together sugar, flour, baking powder and baking soda
* Add egg, yogurt and butter, mix well
* Add dried fruit, mix well
* If the dough is too wet add more flour 1 Tbs at a time until your dough is rollable and not too sticky
* If your dough mixture is too dry (crumbly) add water 1 Tbs at a time

* On a clean, flat surface, sprinkle some flour, then roll out the dough and cut out into circles using a cookie or biscuit cutter. Repeat until all the dough is used.

* Place on a baking sheet, about 1 inch apart, brush lightly with water, sprinkle sugar over the top and bake for about 12 minutes at 400 degrees F until lightly golden. (1o minutes in convection oven)

Let cook about 5 minutes and serve!

Rustic Scone with Almonds, Raisins, Dried Cranberries and Chocolate Chips

My husband has been pushing for scones for a while. I finally gave in! Instead of scones he got one massive, rustic scone! We had such fun cutting away at it... got a bit carried away I'm afraid!

A good scone is moist and flaky, firm not mushy like soft bread as we find all too often here in the States. This was to be a dried fruit and nut scone, but when a 4 year old helps out in the kitchen chocolate chips are inevitably added to the equation... the end result was not exactly fit for a healthy breakfast, but a treat to be savored later on. It was delicious! Thank you, Alexander, for the wonderful addition!


Ingredients:

4 cups plus all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar, plus additional for sprinkling
2 tablespoons baking powder
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 sticks of cold butter, diced
4 extra-large eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup cold milk
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup almonds, slivered
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1 egg white for egg wash



Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix flour and cold butter and mix at the lowest speed until the dough resembles large crumbs. Add the eggs and milk, vanilla and baking powder and, with the mixer on low speed, slowly pour into the flour and butter mixture. Mix until just blended. The dough will look lumpy! Combine the dried fruit, nuts and chocolate and mix on low speed until blended.

Put the dough onto a greased cookie sheet, parchment paper or liner. Spread the dough into roughly a 10 inch circle. (It will be very sticky.) Brush the egg wash over the scone and lastly sprinkle sugar over the top.

Bake the scone about 25 - 30 minutes until it is nicely golden and firm to the touch. Let the scone cool 10 -15 minutes and then bring to the table and either let everyone break off a piece or cut a piece. This is a fun thing to have when you have friends over for coffee in the late morning or early afternoon!

The Perfect Scone

(In all honesty this is just a scone, a very mediocre scone at best... it is from the bakery section at the grocery store...

I just needed a picture to illustrate my recipe!)

This is a foolproof recipe and I get perfect scones every time. I have not made it in ages. I wanted to this morning but ran out of time. I am posting this recipe for everyone, but mostly Marie, who asked for it and has been waiting very patiently for me to tear through boxes and boxes and flip through cookbook after cookbook until I came across a piece of paper all tattered and torn. I have no idea where the recipe originated, but I got it from my sister in law.

Ingredients:

2 Cups of flour

3 Tbs dark brown sugar

2 Tsp baking powder

1/2 Tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 Cup of butter

1 8 oz, container of *sour cream

1 beaten egg yolk

1 slightly beaten egg white

1/2 - 1 Cup of dried fruit such as raisins, cranberries, dried cherries, apricots, etc...

In a large mixing bowl stir together flour and brown sugar, baking powder, baking sugar and salt.

Cut butter in to mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs. Make a well in the center and add the egg yolk and the sour cream. Stir or mix until well combined.

Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface, then flatten and add your dried fruit and knead about 10 times to really incorporate fruit.

Pat out in to a circle, about 7 inches, and cut into 12 wedges, brush with egg white and sprinkle with sugar.

Or...

Roll into a wire log and cut into 1 and 1/2 inch - 2 inch slices.

Bake at 400 degrees or until golden brown, about 10-12 minutes.

Cool on a wire rack and enjoy!

* I now use light or fat free sour cream with the same results. Vanilla yogurt, or plain yogurt work well as a sour cream substitute.