Scones

Just to show you that I do have a life that includes things other than quilting, here are some pics from this AM. The light is not the best because, frankly, the sun was not up yet. In the last 3 mornings, I have baked 224 Cranberry Buttermilk Scones.

Here is the recipe, which I changed a bit. This is exactly how I made them...

In a mixing bowl, place 3 cups all-purpose flour, 1/3 cup sugar, 1/2 tsp. baking soda, 3/4 tsp. salt, and 2-1/2 tsp. baking powder. Stir to combine. Add fresh zest from 1/2 orange (notice the naked orange in the pics). Cut in 1-1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) of softened butter with a pastry blender. Add about 3/4 cups dried cranberries and mix again. Add 1 cup buttermilk (I used 1 Tablespoon of lemon juice with enough regular milk added to make 1 cup). Stir gently, incorporating all the dry ingredients.

Dump onto a lightly floured counter and knead a few times, adding additional flour as necessary. Roll into a log and divide into thirds (I use my counter scraper for the cutting as well as scraping the counter over and over to remove stuck bits of dough). Shape into a 7" diameter circle on parchment-paper-lined cookie sheets. Brush with milk, then sprinkle with a mix of cinnamon and sugar. Cut (with pizza cutter) into 8 wedges.

Bake at 400 degrees F for 18 minutes. Remove to wire rack to cool completely. Cut again before serving.

This is a bit different from the original instructions, but after making 28 of these (well, not even that many), you start to see time-saving tips and things to generally make it easier.

One of the nice things about these is that they are not very sweet. They are for a ladies' banquet at our church on Saturday. I will have some pictures from that to share with you later.

Off to hand quilt now.

~Joan