I hear it has been really cold in many parts of the United States recently. The Dominican Republic has had a bit of a cold spell recently, too. By cold spell, I mean temperatures in the high 60s at night, requiring a sweatshirt. Ok, ok.. a cold spell for the DR is really a tropical heat wave to someone in Montana (-58 degree wind chill? seriously?). And it was warm enough to spend all day Saturday at the beach… I can’t share the sunny, warm weather with you, so instead, I’ll share with you the recipe that got me out of bed every cold, dark, winter morning last year.
I made these scones for my parents when I was in Colorado over the holidays. They didn’t last very long. These scones taste best fresh and hot out of the oven. Luckily, they freeze really well and cook up quickly, making them a perfect breakfast to pull you out of bed when it’s cold and chilly.
Cranberry Lemon Scones
2 1/2 tablespoons of lemon zest [I like my scones very lemony. If you prefer less lemon, reduce this by 1 tablespoon]
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup + 3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 sick (6 tablespoons) butter (cold and cut into pieces)
2 cups fresh cranberries [Cranberries store well in the freezer, so stock up on them while they're fresh and in season.]
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 cup heavy cream [Use heavy cream! I promise that it makes a difference and you will regret using milk as a substitute.]
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees
- Zest the lemon
- Cut cranberries in half and toss with 3 tablespoons of sugar
- Mix zest, flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and putter until it looks like a coarse grain
- Add in cranberries
- In a separate bowl, beat eggs with cream
- Add egg mixture to flour mixture and slowly mix together until just combined. Don’t over mix.
- Place dough on floured surface and roll out to ~ 1 inch in thickness. Using a round cookie cutter (or a round glass) cut out circles that are ~3 inches in diameter.
- Place scones on a greased cookie sheet and bake for 15 minutes
[I usually cut these out into rounds and then freeze them on a baking sheet. Once they're frozen, put them in a freezer bag. When your alarm goes off in the morning, wake up, turn on your oven, get ready for work/school/etc, pop your scone in the oven, make your coffee and enjoy!]
