Cherry Lemon Scones

My latest used book store treasure

   I tried out one of the recipes in my new cookbook, "Biscuits and Scones".  Actually, I can't say I really tried out the recipe as I modified it right from the start.  First of all, I didn't have any fresh cranberries so I substituted dried pie cherries. Then I had to modify the amount of liquid because I had used dried fruit rather than the fresh fruit in the original recipe.  I also substituted lemon zest for orange zest as we had lemons and were fresh out of oranges.  I was more concerned about the basic scone recipe than I was the add-on flavorings. They turned out well, very light and fluffy. We only got to sample one as they are designated to go to a youth fireside this evening.  I have to give Linda credit for suggesting the frosting, a nice touch.

Cherry Lemon Scones

     The scone recipe, as modified, is as follows:

1 cup buttermilk
1 duck egg
3 cups biscuit flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 stick butter
1/2 cup dried pie cherries
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon butter at room temperature

     Mix the dry ingredients and cut in the stick of butter. Add the egg to the buttermilk and beat.  Mix the liquid ingredients with the dry ingredients. Knead the dough 5 or six times, then divide it in half. Roll each half into a circle and cut into six sections. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes. Then rub the room temperature butter onto the tops of each scone. I specified duck egg as the recipe called for a large egg and a duck egg is a very large egg. I think I'm going to have a lot of fun experimenting with various additions to this particular recipe.

    I purchased a new biscuit flour the other day.  I'm going to try White Spear pastry flour.  It is 9.5 percent protein so I think I can use it the way it is rather than doing a 50/50 mix of cake flour and all-purpose flour as I did the last time.  That way I only have to purchase one 50 pound bag of flour rather than two 50 pound bags of flour(one of cake flour and one of all-purpose flour) and I don't have to go through the hassle of mixing the two bags of flour together.  I am optimistic that it will work out well. We'll see if the quality of the biscuits is maintained.  The precent protein isn't listed on most flour bags. I copied the label information of the various types of flour sold at Cash and Carry, then went on the internet in order to find which flour met my requirements.