Guest Post: Baked Craisin Scones

Today's recipe comes to us from my father-in-law, The Greg. His comments (in italics):

Scones are old Scottish biscuits. The reason I make them is they're so easy and the more impatient you are with them, the better they turn out. [The idea here is that scone dough, when overworked, becomes very dense and hard to chew once cooked.] I can get up in the morning, make them, and they come out of the oven in time for me to have while I enjoy my morning coffee.

I like this recipe because you can use any flavor of dried fruit, as long as it's in small pieces. Greg has made these with regular and blueberry-flavored Craisins with great success. You could use actual dried blueberries, or even try cutting up dried apple pieces into small chunks.


Ingredients

• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 2/3 cup dried cranberries (Craisins), any flavor
• 8 Tbsp (1 stick) cold butter, diced
• 1 large egg
• 2/3 cup milk

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. In a large mixing bowl, mix together flour,  sugar, baking powder, and dried cranberries.
3. Stir butter into dry ingredients and mash with potato masher (or squish with your clean fingers!).
4. With a fork, beat eggs into milk until well stirred. Pour this into dry ingredients and mix to incorporate. Dough should be very rough (almost shredded looking), with chunks of butter still visible.
5. Cut dough in half. Roll each half on a floured surface to about 1/2-inch thickness. Pinch edges around your circle to avoid cracks along the edges while baking.
6. Cut each large chunk into six triangular pieces (like a pie), or use circle-shaped cookie cutter and cut out several rounds. Prick each scone with a fork.
7. Bake on ungreased cookie sheet at 425 degrees for 10-12 minutes.