riddlelove: Glazed Cranberry Lemon Scones with Spelt (of course). A recipe.

Monday, April 5, 2010

Glazed Cranberry Lemon Scones with Spelt (of course). A recipe.

First of all, I have some big news to share with you. I mean big. But before I do, I have two posts I've got to put up first. I can't help it. If I'm not systematic, my eyes cross and I get all confused and laundry piles up and dishes begin to mold while I sit in a corner and stare at the ground. I might be exaggerating (slightly), but it's for the sake of my mental well-being and my family's care that the posts wait in line in the order they were conceived. However, come Wednesday, the huge news will be revealed, so stay tuned if you're interested in finding out...

Just because we choose health doesn't mean we have to miss out on treats. I mean real treats, not I'll pretend this tastes as good as the real thing kind of treats. This is a whole grain scone with good ingredients, and if you want them extra healthy, skip the glaze; they're plenty yummy without it. If you're serving 6 or more, I suggest you double this recipe. It's just nice to (hopefully) have leftovers, you know? This is a quick recipe that takes about 20 minutes from start to baked-goodness finish.

Glazed Cranberry Lemon Scones with Spelt (Makes 8 scones)

You will need (Also butter. Somehow it didn't make it in the picture.):

For the Scones

2 cups spelt flour (why spelt? Click here to find out!)

1/4 cup turbinado (you can use another sugar, but turbinado gives it great texture)

1 Tablespoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon Celtic sea salt

6 Tablespoons UNsoftened butter (meaning straight from the fridge)

1 egg

1/2 cup half-and-half (or cream if you want to go for the gold; but whole milk works, too)

1/2 cup dried cranberries

1 teaspoon lemon zest (a fancy word for rind)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine flour, sugar, and salt.

Cut in the butter. Meaning slice the butter as if you were going to generously butter a slice of bread and drop the pieces in, one at a time, while the mixer (set to 1) does it's thing.

Now measure the half-and-half and add the egg. Whisk it up real well then pour into the dry mixture while the mixer remains on setting 1 (low).

Add the cranberries and lemon zest while it's all still mixing around.

Take the dough out, roll it into a ball, and pat it out into about a 1/2 inch-thick wheel. Cut it into 8 triangles.

Now spread them out. I usually bake them on a pizza stone (perfect shape), but that had Greek Easter Bread on it at the time.

Bake for about 15 minutes or until the edges are slightly brown.

If you want to glaze them, make the glaze while the scones are baking.

For the Glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar

1 Tablespoon juice from the lemon you just zested

1 1/2 Tablespoon half-and-half (or cream or milk)

Combine all ingredients and beat until it looks like, well, glaze. There's no need to sift the sugar; it'll all dissolve by the time you glaze the scones.

Once the scones come out, let them cool a few minutes, then glaze. No need to dirty more dishes; just drizzle the glaze from the mixing bowl, scraping the sizes with a spatula.