cranberry scones

smitten kitchen is one of my favorite food blogs. I don't remember the first recipe that brought me to the blog, nor the first recipe I made, but this is one of my favorites. Though I've never seen this infamous America's Test Kitchen Cookbook, I've heard of it and learned to trust recipes from this source. The trick to this recipe, changed from America's Test Kitchen's currants to cranberries, is to work very quickly, getting the butter from the fridge to the oven as quickly as possible. Don't overwork the dough or fuss with mixing the ingredients. I've never made a bad batch, regardless of how I've worried that I didn't cut in the butter into small enough pieces or knead the dough enough.

DREAMY CREAM SCONES (makes 8)
from smitten kitchen

2 cups flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
3 Tbsp sugar
½ tsp salt
5 Tbsp chilled, unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
½ cup dried cranberries
1 cup heavy cream

WHISK flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in large bowl. Using a pastry blender, quickly cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse meal with a few slightly larger butter lumps. Stir in cranberries. Stir in heavy cream with a rubber spatula or fork until dough begins to form, about 30 seconds.

DUMP dough and all dry, floury bits onto the countertop and knead dough by hand until it just comes together in a rough, sticky ball (5-10 seconds, do not overwork the dough). Form dough into a rectangle, approximately 4 ½ inches by 12 inches. Cut into 8 triangles (first into four rectangles, approximately 4 ½ inches by 3 inches, then diagonally from corner to corner).

PLACE wedges on an ungreased baking sheet and bake at 425°F until scone tops are light brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Cool on a wire rack for at least 10 minutes.