My Go-To Book For Sunday Scones

“Let’s go to The Pancake Cafe,” said my husband on the way home from church. Because he’s always starving mid-morning.

“Let’s go home, and I’ll make cranberry scones,” I said.

“Yum,” he said, and drove us home.

My book automatically opens to Cranberry Scones. (Do you keep cranberries in your freezer, as I do, long after Thanksgiving and Christmas feasts for such a time as this?)

The recipe is easy:

2/3 cup buttermilk or plain yogurt (I use the Greek yogurt, Fage)
1 large egg
3 cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick; yeah, baby!) cold unsalted butter, cut up
1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon freshly grated orange peel
1 tablespoon butter, at room temperature

Heat oven to 375. Measure buttermilk (or yogurt) in a 2 cup glass measure; beat in egg with a fork.

Put flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl. Stir to mix well. Add the 8 tablespoons butter and cut in with a pastry blender or rub in with your fingers until the mixture looks like fine granules.

Add cranberries, sugar and orange peel: toss lightly to distribute evenly. Add buttermilk mixture. Stir with a fork until a soft dough forms.

Turn out dough onto a lightly floured board and give 5 to 6 kneads, just until well mixed. Form dough into a ball; cut into 8 wedges. Form each wedge into a ball and place on an ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake 20 to 25 minutes, or until medium brown. Remove to a wire rack. Brush with the 1 tablespoon of soft butter. Let cool, uncovered, at least 1 hour before serving.

Or, if you’re in our family, serve as soon as you can touch them without burning your fingers. Preferably with a soft boiled egg, a slice of crisp bacon, and a cup of tea.