scone -da- scones

We have a very early morning (8am) meeting on Monday morning, I know i'm horrible right?  It's the only time the committee could reconvene.  So I told them I would bake, sort of to soften them up and also to share my appreciation of the work the committee is doing.  I knew i didn't want to just make the same old muffins.  I thought about biscotti but we won't really have many options for dipping them and they can be kind of hard.  Then I thought of it, scones - of course and I have never made them before so it was perfect!  I set out to find the base recipe i would use and I found it! :)

I made chocolate chunk & cranberry scones and orange & cranberry scones with an orange glaze drizzle.  They turned out so good, I was ecstatic! So there we have it scones for monday morning.  Below is the recipe for the the chocolate/cranberry scones!  it's a pretty easy recipe... enjoy!

2 cups all purpose flour

1/4 cup granulated white sugar

1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cold and cut into pieces

1/2 cup milk or semi sweet chocolate chips or chunks

1/2 cup dried cherries or cranberries

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2/3 cup buttermilk

Egg mixture for brushing tops of scones:

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1 tablespoon milk

Cinnamon Sugar:

2 tablespoons granulated white sugar

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) and place rack in middle of oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Cut the butter into small pieces and blend into the flour mixture with a pastry blender or two knives. The mixture should look like coarse crumbs.  Stir in the chocolate chunks (or chips) and dried cherries. In a small measuring cup whisk together the buttermilk and vanilla extract and then add to the flour mixture. Stir just until the dough comes together (add more buttermilk if necessary). Do not over mix the dough.

Transfer to a lightly floured surface and  knead dough gently four or five times and then pat the dough into a circle that is about 7 inches (18 cm) round and about 11/2 inches  thick. Cut this circle in half, then cut each half into 4 pie-shaped wedges (triangles). Place the scones on the baking sheet. Make an egg wash of one well-beaten egg mixed with 1 tablespoon milk and brush the tops of the scones with this mixture. To make the Cinnamon Sugar, mix together the sugar and ground cinnamon Sprinkle the tops of the scones with a little of the cinnamon sugar.

Bake for about 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove from oven and then turn your broiler on high. Sift the confectioners (powdered or icing) sugar heavily over the tops of the scones and place them under the broiler. Broil for just a few seconds, turning the pan as necessary, until the sugar has melted and turns golden brown. Make sure to watch the scones carefully as the sugar will burn very quickly. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Makes 8 scones.