It's Scone time

Sometimes I like to watch the food network and the other day I sat down on the couch with my lunch and watched a lovely episode of "Barefoot Contessa." Boy, does that woman live the life. On this particular episode she make scones, but she vamped them up a bit from her usual recipe. Not only did she add strawberries, but she added walnuts and orange zest. Taking a cue from her, I decided to make scones with dried cranberries and orange zest. I made them this morning while it rained and Phil raked up some leaves. It was the perfect Sunday morning treat, especially for one of those last of autumn days.

INGREDIENTS

• 4 cups plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons sugar, plus additional for sprinkling
• 2 tablespoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 3/4 pound (about 24 tbsp) cold unsalted butter, diced
  
• 4 extra-large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 cup cold heavy cream
• 3/4 cup small-diced dried strawberries
• 1 egg beaten with 2 tablespoons water or milk, for egg wash

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine 4 cups of flour, 2 tablespoons sugar, baking powder, and salt. Blend in the cold butter at the lowest speed and mix until the butter is in pea-sized pieces. Combine the eggs and heavy cream and quickly add them to the flour and butter mixture. Combine until just blended. Toss the strawberries with 1 tablespoon of flour, add them to the dough, and mix quickly.*Here's where I improvised and did 1 cup dried cranberries and 2 tbsp of orange zest. The dough may be a bit sticky.

Dump the dough out onto a well-floured surface and be sure it is well combined. Flour your hands and a rolling pin and roll the dough 3/4-inch thick. You should see lumps of butter in the dough. Cut into squares with a 4-inch plain or fluted cutter, and then cut them in half diagonally to make triangles. *I don't have one of these fancy cutters, so I just used a knife. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Brush the tops with egg wash.*I've never used egg wash before, it's just an egg yolk or egg white with a little bit of milk or water. Sprinkle with sugar and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the outsides are crisp and the insides are fully baked.