BABY CRANBERRY SCONES

Last Thursday afternoon I hosted the monthly gathering of our Northland New Neighbors' League's Mexican Train small group. Since I know at least two of the regulars do not eat any lunch before they come, I decided to provide a light lunch. I actually prefer this over buying lots of snacks that I end up eating because of leftovers.

This week I will be sharing recipes for three of the foods I prepared; Walnut Chicken Salad, Baby Cranberry Scones, and Apple Nut Bread Pudding. I also had some of the Fancy Gorp leftover from the previous week that I prepared for the Quilters' Canasta group. It is so good; it just make so much - 2 quarts. Glad it keeps well in an airtight container though.

I am going to start the week off with the Baby Cranberry Scones. These have to be the best scones I have ever made. They were so cute and little. They were just perfect with the Walnut Chicken Salad.

I found the recipe in my Mary Engelbreit's Let's Party Cookbook.

BABY CRANBERRY SCONES

2       cups all-purpose lour
1/3    cup sugar
1        tablespoon baking powder
1/2    teaspoon salt
1/2    cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut in very narrow slices
3/4   cup fat-free half and half, + 1 tablespoon for brushing
1/2    cup dried cranberries, coarsely chopped

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Grease and flour a large baking sheet.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.

With a pastry blender, 2 knives, or your fingertips, cut in the butter until the pieces of butter are no larger than tiny peas.

[TIP! I was in a hurry and instead of using my fingers (my personal choice), using the paddle attachment on my electric mixer, I achieved the end result, by "beating" the mixture for a minute or two.]

With a fork, stir in the half and half just until a shaggy dough forms (all of the flour mixture is absorbed).

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface

and knead a few times. Flatten to about an inch thick

and dump cranberries on top. 





Knead the dough a few times to distribute the cranberries. 

Pat dough to about 1/4 - inch or so thick.

Cut as many "scones" as possible using a 1-1/2 - inch round biscuit cutter. Rework the scraps and finish cutting scones until the dough is used up. (As I said I was in a hurry and forgot to take pictures of the last few steps. Sorry.)

Place the scones on the cookie sheet about 1-1/2 inches apart.

Pat or brush the tops with the extra half and half. (I just patted a little on each scone with my fingers.)



Bake for 13 - 15 minutes, or until golden brown. (I didn't take a picture here either, but I do have one when I was serving them.)

Serve warm or let cool to room temperature. The best way to serve them warm is to place a light "towel" in a basket, place the biscuits or scones on the "towel", and then bring the excess "towel" over the edges to cover the biscuits or scones. This will keep them nice and warm.