Cranberry Scones

May 30: National Scone Day

Highlander’s Mum, a first generation Scottish-Canadian, often takes her tea with shortbread biscuits (cookies) or scones. The latter are a traditional Scottish teatime treat that is actually a sweet or savory quick bread and have become a popular snack at coffee shops as well. We usually make homemade scones for breakfast but also prepare them when Mum visits so we can relax together over a cup of tea or coffee. Although we have baked a variety of scones (recipes will appear in future blog posts), we chose to feature a simple sweet scone containing dried cranberries for National Scone Day.

Recipe

(Adapted from Taste of Home)

Ingredients

• 1 cup flour
• ¼ cup sugar
• 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
• pinch of salt
• ¼ cup cold butter, cut into small pieces
• 1 egg, beaten
• 3 tablespoons milk
• ¼ – ½ cup dried cranberries
• coarse sugar to sprinkle on top of the scones

Directions

In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and pinch of salt. Cut in the cold butter pieces and mix until it has a crumb-like texture.

In a small bowl, beat the egg. In a measuring cup, measure the milk. Then add two tablespoons of the beaten egg to the milk. Mix the egg and milk and pour into the crumb mixture. Blend until moistened. Add the cranberries and combine well.

Place the dough onto a floured surface. Knead gently to form a 6-inch round. Slice into four wedges for large scones or eight wedges for mini scones. Separate the wedges. Place on a greased baking sheet. Brush the top of the scones with the remaning beaten egg.

Sprinkle the tops of the scones with coarse sugar. Bakes in a preheated oven at 425 degrees F for 15-20 minutes or until brown, being careful not to burn the underside of the scones. Remove from the oven and serve warm with fruit preserves/jams or clotted cream.

Notes

• Australia celebrates National Scone Day on May 30. But we think this food holiday should go global!
• Search our blog for other scone recipes.