I awoke from a dream with scones on my mind and a determination that I was going to master making perfect scones and overcome my frustration of being scone challenged. I assembled all the ingredients together on the kitchen counter, measured ingredients, and pulled out the food processor to assist in its texture. Feeling good about scones.
Was feeling all good about scones until I started working the last of the ingredients in the dough when that old familiar feelingof dread washed over me. That stickiness of the dough and a flashback of failed sconesfrom the past.
I paused for a second or two, debating. Do I want to face the prospect of ugly scones or do I want to have fresh, homemade scones for breakfast this morning (and see the delight and happiness in my Man’s eyes at fresh Cranberry Scones!)? No brainer. Like a woman with a mission, I opened the cabinet that houses my beloved baking pans. With much clatter and commotion of pans clashing and moving about, I pulled out my crutch…my mini scone pan
! Ahhhhh.Things are looking up now. Yes, I can! Homemade Meyer Lemon and Cranberry Scones in less than 40 minutes later. No flour-mess, rolling pins and other initial steps.
My mini scone pan makes a uniform and petite sized 16 scones. I used my largest cookie scoop and with one scoop per each well, I’ve just uniformly distributed scone dough for fresh breakfast scones. I love it! Chuckle, sneer, grin at me or whatever, but this is one crutch that I won’t be letting go of anytime soon!
I still have some beautiful, and vibrant fresh cranberries. Do these little waxy, red berries ever go bad? Paired with some homegrown Meyer Lemons – this recipe couldn’t have been more timely. I’ve used this recipe two weekends in a row and it’s good stuff. I’ve tried it with adding turbinado/raw sugar to the tops for texture and/or some sliced almonds. You can substitute dried cranberries for the fresh. It’s a seasonal, tart and fresh tasting scone with a good texture. No dried, crumbly old scones here!
Teenie Notes
- If using a scone pan, spray the pan with non-stick spray to ensure those scones release easily.
- When you pull the pan out of the oven, let the scones sit in the pan for at least 8-12 minutes before attempting to remove them from the pan (trust me on this).
- Pick through the cranberries and toss any that are too soft or bruised.
- Sprinkling either some turbinado/raw sugar or slivered almonds on the tops of the scones before baking gives it a nice texture/crunch…and it looks pretty!
Meyer Lemon and Cranberry Scones
source modified from Gourmet, May 1997
Makes 16 small-sized scones
Ingredients
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar (plus an additional 3 tablespoons IF using fresh cranberries)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter cut into small pieces
2 1/2 tablespoons freshly grated Meyer Lemon zest (from about 3 medium-sized lemons)
1 1/4 cups fresh cranberries, coarsely chopped OR 1 1/4 cups dried cranberries
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 cup heavy cream, room temperature
Raw sugar, for scone tops (optional)
Sliced Almonds, for scone tops (optional)
Directions
Set oven rack to middle position. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
In a food processor, pulse flour, 1/2 cup sugar, baking powder, salt, butter and zest until mixture has the texture of coarse meal. Transfer mixture to a large bowl.
- If using fresh cranberries: In a small bowl, toss together the fresh cranberries and 3 tablespoons sugar and stir into flour mixture.
- If using dried cranberries: Add and stir into flour mixture.
In another small bowl, lightly beat the egg and egg yolk and stir in the cream. Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and stir until combined.
- If using the small scone pan: Spray pan/scone wells with non-stick spray. Evenly distribute the dough into each well, for a total of 16. If you have a large cookie scoop, use it for more even proportioned dough. Use your fingertips to push dough to edges of each triangular well.
- Roll out method: Flour working surface and hands. Pat dough into a 1-inch thick round (about 8-inches in diameter) and cut out 16+ rounds with a 2-inch round cutter. Place rounds on a baking sheet about 1-inch apart. Re-work dough scraps.
(Optional) If using raw sugar and/or sliced almonds: Sprinkle desired amount on top of each scone.
Bake for about 15-20 minutes, or until tops are golden.
See additional Teenie Notes above about handling scones fresh out of the oven.
Serve scones warm and store in an airtight container.
