Fluffy Cranberry & Date Scones

Today I had the great pleasure of having gone of my very good friends over for a long overdue visit. She is a wonderful British lady with a fantastic sense of humor and a great outlook in life. She also knows how to perfectly pair alcoholic libations with pretty much anything, which is one of the many reasons I thinks she is the bees knees. Seeing that she was coming by for the afternoon I decided to make another batch of my date tortellini (see post from two days ago), but I had also promised her we would have some other sweet treat. I was a little stomped until I had a sort of moment of clarity and though "hey maybe you should make some scones too". So without further delay here is the recipe I concocted today:

Cranberry Date Scones (Yields about 12-14)

12 TBSP Butter (1 1/2 sticks)
2 Cups of flour
3 TBSP Sugar
1 TBSP Baking Powder
1 tsp salt
2 Eggs
1/2 Cup of Milk
1/2 Cup Dried Cranberries
1/2 Cup Diced Dates

Preheat your oven to 400 Fahrenheit. In a bowl mix the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt and set aside. Put your butter in a mixer and beat until softened and creamy. Start adding in half of the flour mixture a little at a time to allow the flour to incorporate into the butter. Add the eggs and the remaining half of the flour mixture adding little by little alternating with the milk. Add the cranberries and the dates. 


This dough will be a little looser than your typical scone dough but the end result will be a nice fluffy scone. In order to bake these babies properly I suggest putting them in baking cups either closely clustered together on a baking dish (if you want to give them a rustic look) or in a cupcake pan (if you like your baked goods to look perfect). Fill the baking cups half way to allow room for the scone to rise. Bake for approximately 20-25 minutes or until the outside of the scones is a golden brown checking with a toothpick to make sure the inside is cooked through. 


Allow to cool slightly and serve with your favorite jams and butter or clotted cream if available. Enjoy.