Cranberry Dream Scones

The other morning, I was tired of the regular old cereal routine, and wanted to try something new. I've always been a lover of fresh scones to go with my morning up of joe, but had never attempted them at home. I think I had the idea in my head that they are difficult to make, or I would need a special cast iron scone pan to help them set up properly and hold their shape. Not the case. Thankfully, I threw caution to the wind and decided to give it a go without any special tools, and little experience in pastry making. Scones, to my delight, are incredibly easy to make, and take hardly any time at all to throw together for a quick morning treat. As a bonus, these Cranberry Dream Scones are delicious without the added stickiness of frosting, glaze, or anything that would make them impossibly messy to eat.

Begin by mixing together the dough. After the dough is mixed, knead for 30 seconds, and shape into a 10x5 inch rectangle. Cut 8 evenly sized squares using a pastry cutter or knife, and place on an ungreased, or parchment lined baking sheet.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees, and bake on the middle rack for 12-15 minutes, or until the tops are light brown.

Remove from the oven, and let cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. 

Recipe from America's Test Kitchen Cookbook

Behold the perfect amount of crunchiness on the outside, and the delicious soft and fluffy inside.

CRANBERRY DREAM SCONES | Yield: 8 Servings | Prep: 10 min. | Total Time: 25 min.

INGREDIENTS:

2 C unbleached all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
3 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
5 Tbsp chilled, unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
1/2 C dried cranberries
1 C heavy cream

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Adjust rack to middle position.

Place flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in large bowl, or food processor fitted with steel blade. Whisk together, or pulse six times.

If making by hand, use a pastry blender or your fingertips and quickly cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse meal, with a few slightly larger butter lumps. Stir in dried cranberries. If using a food processor, remove cover and distribute butter evenly over dry ingredients. Cover and pulse 12 times, each pulse lasting 1 second. Add cranberries and pulse once more. Transfer dough to a large bowl.

Stir in heavy cream with a rubber spatula or fork until dough begins to form, about 30 seconds.

Transfer dough and all dry, floury bits to countertop and knead dough by hand just until it comes together into a rough sticky ball, 5-10 seconds. Shape the dough into a 10x5 inch rectangle 3/4 inch thick, and using a pastry scraper or knife, cut into 8 squares. NOTE: You can make scones any shape you would like, just make sure they are 3/4 inch thick.

Place squares on ungreased baking sheet (or parchment lined), and bake 12-15 min or until scone tops are light brown. Cool on a wire rack for at least 10 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

T and I both LOVED these scones, and I'll be keeping them in my box of go-to-recipes for quick holiday treats when company is in town.