On Baking & Books

That is what my week has been full of. Baking & Books.

Brent smiled at me when I said it was National Baking Week.  It coincides with what I've started calling "the beginning of the end," for in 12 days, our house will be packed up.  So I think part of my desire for baking each day this week is wrapped up in enjoying these last days in the kitchen that we built and I love.  

I am currently in the middle of packing up the books in our home; two big bookshelves down and still more to go. (We're helping out the liquor stores with their box recycling, let me tell you!)  Deciding which books I'll want to have on hand over the next month and which I can wait on.  Packing away books always makes me a little bit sad; each is like an old friend.  Thankfully, it shouldn't be too long until I can unpack them in their new home!

Now on to the baking part...

The best thing (in my opinion) to snack on while reading is a scone and a hot cuppa tea.  Here is a twist on old stand-by favorite recipe.

Cranberry Pecan Scones

2 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/4 cup heavy cream (regular whipping cream can do in a pinch, but heavy is best)
1/3 cup dried cranberries 
1/3 cup chopped pecans 
cinnamon sugar to taste

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. 
2. In a large bowl, whisk all dry ingredients together. Add cranberries and pecans, adjusting amount to suit your taste. Mix. Add cream. Mix until dry ingredients are moistened.
3. Gather dough into a ball and knead it gently against the bowl 5-10 time until all dough is together. Transfer to a lightly floured surface *** and pat dough into an 8-inch round about 3/4 inch thick. Cut into 8 or 12 wedges. Place scones 1/2 inch apart on an ungreased baking sheet. (I line mine with parchment paper.)
4. Brush tops of scones with additional heavy cream and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.
5. Bake until golden, 12-15 minutes. Let cool on wire rack.

*** To create more scones, at this point in the recipe, sometimes I cut the ball of dough in half, patting each into a round and cutting each round into 12 wedges, yielding 24 slightly smaller scones from each recipe. 


What's your most unique scone recipe? I'd love to try some new ones!


Enjoy!