Cranberry Lemon Scones

I know I promised the zucchini recipe but I'm super excited about scones right now so I'll post that recipe another time. I've never made scones before yesterday and it's now my new favorite thing to make. After making these my brain started thinking about all the endless possibilities of flavors. Rob came up with some too. He's a really good 'idea' guy and thinks of a lot of great combos of flavors that I can usually throw together in some sort of recipe. While making these he suggested pumpkin ones which is exactly what I was thinking too....at the exact same time! Wow. Maybe he's a mind reader too. So I made pumpkin ones just now. They're currently cooling and awaiting their sugar glaze. Mmmmmm! It's really cool outside and smells like fall. A perfect night for baking. If that recipe turns out well (which I hope it does) I will post soon. Anyway, back to the Cranberry Lemon Scones:

Printable Recipe

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup low fat buttermilk
1 large egg
2 teaspoons lemon zest
2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup cold unsalted butter (cut up into little chunks)
2/3 cup chopped dried cranberries

DIRECTIONS

1. In a small bowl whisk together buttermilk, egg and lemon zest.

2. In a large bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Mix well. Add butter to flour mixer and combine using a pastry blender. When the consistency is course and 'crumb-like' fold in chopped cranberries.

3. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

4. Pour buttermilk mixture into flour mixture and stir only until it clumps together. Pour dough onto a lightly floured surface. Cover your hands with flour and knead the dough lightly-only once or twice. Re-flour surface if needed then flatten dough into a circle until it's about 1/2 inch thick. Cut dough into 8 equal pieces.

5. Place a piece of parchment paper on a baking sheet and evenly spread out the scones. Brush them with a light coat of buttermilk then sprinkle sugar evenly over scones. Bake for 13-15 minutes until they are lightly browned. Remove and place on a cooling rack to cool completely.

These are great in the morning with a nice cup of coffee and the newspaper. I want to have them every morning!