Raisin and Cranberry Scones

I woke up early Saturday morning while it was still dark out. After tossing around in bed for who knows how long without any success in falling back to sleep, I finally gave up and decided to surprise hubby with fresh-baked scones instead. I had been thinking about making scones for a while now anyway and was glad I finally got a chance to do it before my big carton of heavy cream expired. :) This is my favorite scone recipe which comes from another of my well-loved, well-used cookbooks – The Professional Pastry Chef by Bo Friberg.* The recipe makes these big, beautiful scones that are absolutely tender and delicious. Enjoy!

Combine dry ingredients
Combine dry ingredients
Add heavy cream and honey
Add heavy cream and honey
Add dried fruit
Add dried fruit
Mix until the ingredients come together
Mix until the ingredients come together
Pat the dough into a round disk and let rest - seemed like a lot of dough because I doubled the recipe
Pat the dough into a round disk and let rest – seemed like a lot of dough because I doubled the recipe
Knead until smooth (2 to 3 minutes)
Knead until smooth (2 to 3 minutes)
Form a 10-inch circle
Form a 10-inch circle
Cut into 8 wedges
Cut into 8 wedges
Brush top with cream and invert pieces in turbinado sugar (or granulated sugar)
Brush top with cream and invert pieces in turbinado sugar (or granulated sugar)
Fresh out of the oven
Fresh out of the oven
Beautiful and delicious scones
Beautiful and delicious scones
Look at how light and tender the scones are
Look at how light and tender the scones are

Adapted from the Scones recipe from The Professional Pastry Chef:

3 ounces dark raisins
3 ounces dried cranberries
14 ounces bread flour
1½ ounces granulated sugar
1½ tablespoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1¾ cups heavy cream
2 ounces honey
turbinado sugar (or granulated sugar)

  1. Preheat oven to 425°F. Line a large sheet pan with Silpat (silicone baking mat) or parchment. Combine the dried fruit and a handful of the flour to prevent them from sticking together. Set aside.
  2. In a separate bowl, combine the remaining flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, and salt. Reserve 2 tablespoons of the cream. Add the remainder of the cream, honey, and dried fruit to the flour mixture. Mix until the ingredients come together in a smooth dough. Take care not to overmix.
  3. Pat the dough into a round disk. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside to relax for 5 minutes.
  4. Next, knead the dough for a couple of minutes until it’s smooth (dough should not feel sticky – if it does, dust your workplace with some flour before kneading). Press the dough out to form a 10-inch circle.
  5. Cut the circle into 8 wedges. Brush the top of each wedge with some of the reserved cream. Invert the pieces in turbinado sugar. Place sugar-side up on prepared pan.
  6. Bake for 13 to 15 minutes. Remove to rack to cool.

*I was required to purchase this book a few years ago when I took some pastry courses. It is a great reference book, albeit a little more expensive than your regular cookbooks. I think it’s a good investment overall, especially if you are interested in the technical aspects of baking and pastry. Also, I have tried a lot of the recipes from this book, all with excellent results. A word of caution though – the recipes are not scaled for home bakers (not in my edition anyway – I own the third edition). For example, a typical muffin recipe makes approximately 30 to 50 regular size muffins. I usually halve the recipe anyway so I can’t tell exactly what the actual outcome would be – just that it would be A LOT. :)

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