Thursday, August 13, 2009

Lemon Cranberry Scones

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I'm not generally a huge scone fan except for maybe cream scones. I mean, how can something made with butter and cream not be melt-in-your-mouth tender?! This time I went with a recipe that's a little lighter, but still pretty rich. Using CI's blueberry scone recipe, I substituted the blueberries for craisins and doubled the lemon zest. To further enhance the lemon flavour, I used Dorie's tip to rub the zest with the sugar. CI's directions tell you to grate frozen butter, but I skipped that step because I don't like cleaning the box grater with bits of greasy butter stuck inside. I know they say it's the trick and I would totally do it if it made a huge difference, but I don't think the texture of these suffered. As long as it's still pebbly with pea size chunks and you don't rub the cold butter into the flour completely until it's a uniform mixture, they should be fine. And... sometimes I actually do like to keep it simple! Overall, these were really fluffy and soft. Best of all they were still moist the next day, but needed to be toasted to bring back those addicting crispy edges.

sconeslemoncranberry (2)

I actually made this recipe last year after my England trip when I was searching for a recipe just like the yummy scones from Harrods. I saw one posted on the internet, but seeing as there isn't that much butter and is made entirely of milk makes me wonder if they will be soft and fluffy.

Lemon Cranberry Scones
Cook's Illustrated

It is important to work the dough as little as possible—work quickly and knead and fold the dough only the number of times called for. The butter should be frozen solid before grating. In hot or humid environments, chill the flour mixture and workbowls before use. While the recipe calls for 2 whole sticks of butter, only 10 tablespoons are actually used (see step 1). If fresh berries are unavailable, an equal amount of frozen berries (do not defrost) can be substituted. An equal amount of raspberries, blackberries, or strawberries can be used in place of the blueberries. Cut larger berries into 1/4- to 1/2-inch pieces before incorporating. Refrigerate or freeze leftover scones, wrapped in foil, in an airtight container. To serve, remove foil and place scones on a baking sheet in a 375-degree oven. Heat until warmed through and recrisped, 8 to 10 minutes if refrigerated, 16 to 20 minutes if frozen. See final step for information on making the scone dough in advance.

16 tablespoons unsalted butter, frozen whole (see note above)
1 1/2 cups blueberries, fresh, about 7 1/2 ounces, picked over (see note) (I used 1 cup craisins)
1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 cup sour cream
2 cups (10 oz) unbleached all-purpose flour, plus additional all-purpose flour, for work surface
1/2 cup sugar, plus 1 tablespoon sugar, for sprinkling (3 1/2 ounces)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1 teaspoon lemon zest, grated (I used 2 tsp)

Directions
1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees. Score and remove half of wrapper from each stick of frozen butter. Grate butter and place grated butter in freezer until needed. Melt 2 tablespoons of remaining ungrated butter and set aside. Save remaining 6 tablespoons butter for another use. Place blueberries in freezer until needed.

2. Whisk together milk and sour cream in medium bowl; refrigerate until needed. Whisk flour, 1/2 cup sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and lemon zest in medium bowl. Add frozen butter to flour mixture and toss with fingers until thoroughly coated.

3. Add milk mixture to flour mixture; fold with spatula until just combined. With rubber spatula, transfer dough to liberally floured work surface. Dust surface of dough with flour; with floured hands, knead dough 6 to 8 times, until it just holds together in ragged ball, adding flour as needed to prevent sticking.

4. Roll dough into approximate 12-inch square. Fold dough into thirds like a business letter, using bench scraper or metal spatula to release dough if it sticks to countertop. Lift short ends of dough and fold into thirds again to form approximate 4-inch square. Transfer dough to plate lightly dusted with flour and chill in freezer 5 minutes

5. Transfer dough to floured work surface and roll into approximate 12-inch square again. Sprinkle blueberries evenly over surface of dough, then press down so they are slightly embedded in dough. Using bench scraper or thin metal spatula, loosen dough from work surface. Roll dough, pressing to form tight log. Lay seam-side down and press log into 12 by 4-inch rectangle. Using sharp, floured knife, cut rectangle crosswise into 4 equal rectangles. Cut each rectangle diagonally to form 2 triangles and transfer to parchment-lined baking sheet.

6. Brush tops with melted butter and sprinkle with remaining tablespoon sugar. Bake until tops and bottoms are golden brown, 18 to 25 minutes. Transfer to wire rack and let cool 10 minutes before serving.

7. To Make Ahead: After placing the scones on the baking sheet, either refrigerate them overnight or freeze. When ready to bake, for refrigerated scones, heat oven to 425 degrees and follow directions in step 6. For frozen scones, heat oven to 375 degrees, follow directions in step 6, and extend cooking time to 25 to 30 minutes.

29 comments:

  1. Wow, those look so tender and light. Scone perfection!

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  2. Please pass me one so I can have it with my coffee?? They sound incredible!! Love it!

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  3. You worked hard to make those scones, and as always I'm VERY impressed with your work!! Nice job, Steph.

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  4. I love the combination of lemon and cranberries - I'll bet they taste as good as they look! I never would have thought about toasting them to get the crispy edges (my favorite part) back. I wonder if that would work with purchased scones?

    Very nice!

    JD

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  5. I totally agree about all that butter and it not being amazing! Yours do look darn good though!

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  6. I'm so glad to hear that CI's blueberry scone mixture is good, because I have had it bookmarked FOREVER! These scones look fantastic!

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  7. I'm so glad to hear that CI's blueberry scone mixture is good, because I have had it bookmarked FOREVER! These scones look fantastic!

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  8. Looks great, awesome pictures. I enjoy a good scone but have never made them myself.

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  9. That last photo is awesome. You can see the bits of lemon zest! YUM with a capital "Y"!

    I love rubbing the zest into the sugar.
    ~ingrid

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  10. That last bite photo looks de-lish. If that's all you've got left, I'll take it!

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  11. I use CI's scone recipe as well! YUMMO

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  12. two of my favorite flavors...this is now on the to-bake list!

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  13. Love how you brought it together Steph...perfect, tender scones. Love the crumb! How I would love to have one now....mmmmmmmm

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  14. Mmmm the addicting crispy edges that are only there on the first day. I love scones. These look so good Steph!

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  15. I LOVE scones!!! Especially with dried cranberries, so I would love to try these!

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  16. I'm a huge scone connoisseur, but I've never seen a recipe using sour cream. Now that I think about it, it makes complete sense! A little twang of sour, all the while keeping the scones nice and moist. I have to try these - thanks!

    Cheers,

    *Heather*

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  17. wow, those look so light and moist! def gonna try these!

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  18. Ooo I am so glad I found this recipe on your blog. I have made before...but substitute a little cream cheese for the butter!! I love it. I am gong to make this today!!! Perfect! Thank you. Happy baking!

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  19. Wow! I've never made scones, and I don't even know what a proper scone should look like, but I think yours look SO perfect and I'd love to have a bite! I'm bookmarking this page! ;D

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  20. Yum, your scones look delicious and I love that last picture with the bite taken out of it!

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  21. Aww, nuts. This post reminded me that I was going to try your recipe for cream scones. But now I'm going gluten-free, so I can't. :(

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  22. I haven't eaten that many scones but I haven't met one I didn't like :) Yeah, that's a good reason for not grating butter. Ecch! O_o
    The scones ended up looking absolutely perfect- well done! :)

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  23. Unlike you I am a HUGE scone fan! These looks great - lemon and cranberry is always a brilliant combination.

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  24. Ok that's it, I'm making these on my day off! These look fantastic!!

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  25. I am the exact same way about scones! I like this recipe though :)

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  26. thankx for the recipe. ... my mom has this insane obsession for scones ever since I made some ... so shes up for trying all the new ones.. LOL

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  27. I love reading your scone posts - they always turn out so well! I'm getting hungry at the pictures now :D

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  28. Thanks for sharing recipe of Lemon Cranberry Scones. Its easy to prepare and takes short time to make it. It contains Cranberry. Cranberry helps to maintain health and beauty.

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