Am I the only one buying up fresh cranberries like they’re going out of season? Oh wait, they are!! Good thing I’ve stockpiled for a good while. Did you know cranberries are very high in antioxidants and have been shown to have anti-cancer effects on 17 different cancers? And lemons are cancer fighters too!
Unfortunately, while these scones have both of these amazingly powerful fruits, they also have sugar and heavy cream, so we won’t call these health food or anti-cancer scones. Juice those powerful fruits and put them in smoothies!! And treat yourself to a scone on occasion… like Christmas morning!
Because I walk the fence between wanting to eat healthy and care for my body, yet loving all the treats and loving baking them, I do try to adapt when I can to make the bad things not totally empty calories and wasteful. For this recipe, I substituted 1 1/2 cups of spelt flour and 1 cup white whole wheat flour for the all-purpose flour. And they were so light and tasty. I loved the spelt. Thanks to my dear friend, Tracy, who blessed me with freshly ground spelt flour before moving to Hawaii, the texture was incredibly delicate. So now I need to find a fresh spelt dealer… anyone? Bueller?
It’s two days before Christmas, so no need to ramble on. Enjoy these scones and a very Merry Christmas to all of you!
Meyer Lemon Cranberry Scones
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 tbsp freshly grated lemon zest from about 2 lemons; preferably Meyer
- 2 1/2 cups flour (I used 1 1/2 cups spelt and 1 cup white whole wheat)
- 1/2 cup sugar plus 3 tablespoons
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 6 tbsp cold unsalted butter, cut into bits
- 1 1/4 cups fresh cranberries chopped coarse
- 1 large egg
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 cup heavy cream
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 400°F. and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
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Zest the lemons. (You will only be using the zest for this recipe. You can use the juice for a smoothie or put it in hot water and drink it first thing in the morning).
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In a food processor pulse flour, 1/2 cup sugar, baking powder, salt, butter and zest until mixture resembles coarse meal and transfer to a large bowl.
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Place the cranberries and 3 tbsp sugar in the food processor and pulse until the berries are chopped coarse. Stir into the flour mixture.
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In another small bowl lightly beat egg and yolk and stir in cream. Add egg mixture to flour mixture and stir until just combined.
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On a well-floured surface with floured hands pat dough into a 1-inch-thick round (about 8 inches in diameter) and with a 2-inch round cutter or rim of a glass dipped in flour cut out as many rounds as possible, rerolling scraps as necessary. Arrange rounds about 1 inch apart on baking sheet and bake in middle of oven 15 to 20 minutes, or until pale golden.
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Serve scones warm. You can serve with creme fraiche, whipped cream, or lemon curd, if desirable, though they are good just as they are.
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*You can easily make the scones in advance and freeze them before baking to enjoy another day. Simply roll them out and cut them, then place them on the parchment-lined baking sheet. Once frozen, remove them from the baking sheet and seal them in a freezer bag until you’re ready to bake them. You can bake them right from the freezer, only needing to add 3 to 5 extra minutes baking time. Scones are always best when they’re freshly baked.
Notes
Source: slightly adapted from Smitten Kitchen