Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Cranberry and White Chocolate English Scones

About twelve years ago, Katie and I ran a bed-and-breakfast inn. A friend of ours shared this recipe, and it was an instant hit with our guests. We served these scones at least twice a week. It got so that I could whip up enough to feed 20 guests in no time at all with my eyes shut. And I literally mean with my eyes shut. Things got going pretty early in the morning at the B and B.

We called them English scones because the bed-and-breakfast was in a castle (or at least a building built to resemble a Scottish castle). All the rooms were castle-themed. I have no idea if these scones are anything like what you get in Great Britain, but they are good. Maybe some day Katie and I can make it across the pond to find out how they compare.

By the way, if anyone reading this is thinking how fun it must have been to run a B and B. Well, here are three pieces of advice:
  1. Have more money than you know what to do with.
  2. Hire someone else to live on site.
  3. Serve these scones.

My camera's batteries are dead, so this was 
taken with the cell phone. Not bad for a cell phone, 
but I think I need to start the New Camera for Curtis Fund.
Donations gladly taken. 



Cranberry and White Chocolate English Scones


Ingredients:

  • 1 ¾ cups flour
  • 2 tsp. baking powder
  • ½ tsp. salt
  • 1 Tbsp. sugar
  • 5 Tbsp. cold butter (cut into small pieces)
  • ½ cup dried cranberries
  • ½ cup white chocolate chips
  • ¾ cup buttermilk
  • 2 Tbsp. sugar
Heat oven to 400˚. Combine flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Cut in cold butter until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add the dried cranberries and white chocolate chips. Stir in buttermilk (reserving some to brush tops of scones) and mix until absorbed. Scrape the dough from the bowl and shape it into a ball. On a well-floured surfaced pat the dough flat and then fold over. Repeat this ten times. Roll to about ½ inch thick. Cut with a biscuit cutter or roll into a circle and cut wedges. Brush tops with buttermilk and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 10 minutes.

2 comments:

  1. JenMay 16, 2010 at 8:46 AM

    Tried this recipe--and it went pretty well. I think, unfortunately, the bake time must change for lower altitudes because 10 minutes wasn't near enough time--they were still a very doughy in the center. But there's always next time and the taste was great! Thanks for the recipe!

    ReplyDelete
  2. CurtisMay 16, 2010 at 9:28 AM

    Jen--Thanks for the comment. I remember trying the scones in California once at a much lower elevation. I had to bake them a couple minutes longer there. At the time, I thought it was the oven itself. Definitely something I should consider when posting recipes.

    ReplyDelete

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