Another Platte County Fair has come and gone until next summer. This was a first for me - at least for the Platte County Fair - to enter some items for judging. I entered three things and all three took ribbons. Yay. So exciting.
I was planning on entering one of my lap quilts like I make for Blankets of Hope; I just needed to get it finished. But when I was encouraged to enter three things so I could get a pass for all four days, I thought I would enter another quilt I had made with a "farm theme" - animals and food. I actually made it for Blankets of Hope but liked it so much I was talked into keeping it. The third item, I wasn't sure of.
Saturday afternoon, the day before I was supposed to take the items to the fairgrounds to drop off my entries, I was missing doing any baking and decided to make some cranberry scones. I had found the recipe earlier when I was going through a cookbook I thought I could donate. Well, they tasted so good and looked nice enough, I decided I would package up a few and they would be my third entry.
Image my surprise when we went to the fair Wednesday afternoon and I saw that both of my quilts had ribbons hanging from them. Third place on the first one I wanted to take and fourth place on the "farm theme" one.
Then Wayne and I started looking for my cranberry scones. I had just about given up on finding them, when we both saw them at the same time. There was the closed container just as I had brought it in with a blue First Place ribbon attached to it. I was so surprised. I was really surprised that they had replaced the paper cardboard cover so no one could see what they looked like. But right above it was a coconut cake that had also won a blue ribbon and it was covered with the plastic wrap so you really couldn't see how delicious it looked. Oh Wayne said he wasn't surprised at all because they tasted so good.
The scones are really delicious and were so fast and easy to make. They are cut into 2 - inch circles, but if you think scones have to be cut in triangles, there is no reason, other than the fact you don't end up with as many servings, you couldn't cut them that way when you press the dough out into a circle to cut them into 2 - inch circles. My sister-cousin, Marie, is allergic to cinnamon so she will have to omit the last step or try substituting nutmeg maybe for the cinnamon. She can also just sprinkle some sugar on top, too.
CRANBERRY SCONES
2-1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup sugar
6 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1 teaspoon dried orange peel
Cinnamon/sugar mixture for the tops
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Lightly spray/grease a large cookie sheet. Set aside.
Sift together the first four ingredients together into a large mixing bowl. Cut in the butter until mixture is crumbly.
(I thinly slice the cold butter and add a few at a time and work them in with my fingers.)
Add the cranberries, beaten egg, yogurt, and orange zest. Blend all well to make a dough that barely holds together.
(I used my hands to work the ingredients until there are no dry ingredients.)
Drop dough onto a floured surface/board and pat dough out until about 1/2 inch thick.
(Make sure the dough is smooth.)
Using a 2 - inch round biscuit/cookie cutter, cut rounds using all of the dough. (Lightly work unused dough and flatten to 1/2 inch and cut.)
Place the rounds 1 inch apart on the cookie sheet. (I made about 17 scones so also used a second pan. I used two racks in the oven.)
Sprinkle the tops with the cinnamon-sugar mixture.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly golden and well-risen.
