July 2017 – jaebelle photography, etc

Hi again! I’m going to share with y’all my delicious scones recipe. I typically make it with fresh strawberries but I did it with dried cranberries back at Thanksgiving and my family loved it. The dough also freezes well so you can make half now and have the rest later! ANNNNND???? You can make it gluten-free so easily!!!!!! To be completely honest, I actually prefer the gluten-free version. Like a lot. Yum! With no more ado….

Scones: yield 8 medium-sized scones or 12 small ones

*if you are doing the gluten-free variety, do it exactly the same way but substitute the ingredients with the red ingredient next to them)

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (*or 2 1/2 cups basic white gluten free flour (recipe HERE)*)
2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup cold chopped butter
2 eggs, beaten
3/4 cup whipping cream (*or 1 cup coconut or vanilla Greek yogurt–do NOT use regular yogurt, which has too high of a water content–coconut or vanilla are best as well because the sweetness of the flavor will counteract the sourness of the yogurt)
1/2 cup chopped fresh strawberries or dried cranberries

1. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Stir til blended. Using a pastry blender, cut in the chopped butter until the mix resembles coarse crumbs. Note: the colder the butter is, the better. This is not one of those recipes where room temp or melted will work!

2. In a smaller bowl, beat eggs and then add whipping cream. Stir until mixed–don’t overbeat (we don’t want fluffy!)

3. Pour egg mixture into flour mix and start kneading!

5. Knead just until blended–dough should be lumpy. Stick it in the fridge for 20-30 minutes–this allows the dough to set up a bit so that when it’s in the oven it doesn’t flatten out into pancakes! **Especially important for the gluten free variety!! You want it super cold when it goes into the oven**

6. While your dough is chilling, get out the strawberries and start chopping! (If you’re doing dried cranberries, go ahead and just separate them so they aren’t stuck in a huge clump, then skip ahead step #7). 2 or 3 large strawberries is enough; chop them to about the size of a raisin or smaller. This is the part where Zippy gets real interested in what I’m up to :o) The boy loves his fruit & veggies.

Gently drop the strawberries onto a paper towel and pat them dry. Flip them over by hand and then pat a bit more dry. You don’t want all that juice getting into the dough and turning it into a giant sticky mess! Go ahead and preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

7. Once the dough is cooled down, turn half of it out onto a floured surface and gently flatten it into a thick circle. Press 1/4 of your berries into it, then fold top over (like an omelette) and press another 1/4 of the berries on top. Gently knead it a couple times or until berries are evenly disbursed.

Flatten it into about a 1 inch thick disc and then cut it into either 4 or 6 wedges.

At this point, you can repeat with the other half of the dough and either stick it in the freezer to bake later or prepare it to bake now.

8. Line a pan with parchment paper (my favorite versatile kitchen tool!!) and place scone wedges 2 inches apart. At this point, some people choose to brush a bit more cream over the top of each and sprinkle sugar over them; it just depends how sweet you want them to be (without this step they’re just creamy and slightly sweet).

9. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes. If using a convection oven, bake 10 to 12 minutes. While they’re baking, you can make a yummy glaze to pour over them using a half tablespoon of orange juice and a half cup powdered sugar. Drizzle over them after they cool down. I like them with it because it makes them a little tangy but they’re yummy dry as well.