Monday, January 14, 2008

Love dies, but good recipes live on

This fantastic scone recipe comes from an ex-boyfriend's mother, who is a phenomenal cook and baker. The scones are fairly cheap to make and take less than half an hour -- baking time included -- though enthusiastic eaters will think you slaved away the whole morning. Or, be selfish: freeze them and you can eat a fresh scone for breakfast every day for a week!

Cranberry-Orange Scones (see below for variations)
Makes 6 large or 8-9 medium-sized scones

2 C flour
1 T baking powder
1 t salt
1/4 C sugar
1 stick of cold butter, cut into small pieces
1 egg
Grated rind of 1 orange
1/2 C cream
Handful of dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix together all the dry ingredients (1 through 4), then mix them with the butter in a food processor. Set aside. Mix "wet" ingredients (egg, orange zest, and cream), and add to food processor. Fold in dried berries. Mold dough into slightly flattened balls about 3 inches in diameter and arrange on a baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes.

Variations:
-In place of orange zest, use 1/2 t almond extract.
-In place of an orange, use a lemon, and substitute cranberries with blueberries.
-Especially when using almond extract, dried cherries are a delicious substitute for cranberries.
-Add chopped almonds or walnuts to batter before baking.
-Use chocolate chips in place of berries. If you like the chocolate/orange combination, keep the orange zest; if not, use vanilla extract instead.

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