A Sunday Trifecta a.k.a. ~~Recipe for Cherry Ginger Scones

I got the base for the scones I made the other day from this book --A Homemade Life by Molly Wizenberg (also known as Orangette). There are wonderful stories and recipes in this book and I highly recommend it.

I made a few changes, because I had lots of dried cherries and I wanted to use them. Here's the recipe, with my changes:

Cherry Ginger Scones

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 tablespoons of cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

3 tablespoon sugar

2 teaspoons grated lemon zest

1/4 cup finely chopped crystallized ginger

1/2 cup dried cherries, plumped in hot water and drained

1/2 cup heavy cream (or half-and-half)

1 large egg

Preheat the oven to 425F. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Using your hands, rub the butter into the flour mixture, squeezing and pinching until the mixture resembles a coarse meal and there are no large butter lumps left. Add the sugar, lemon zest, and crystallized ginger. Mix together. Pour the cream into a small bowl; add the egg to the cream and blend. Pour the wet ingredients into the flour mixture. Drain the cherries, add to the mix. Stir gently to just combine. Press the dough into a ball, working in excess flour. Pat into a circle about an inch thick. Cut into eight wedges. Place the wedges onto a baking sheet and brush the tops only with a little cream or half-and-half. Sprinkle with raw sugar (turbinado sugar) or pearl sugar. Bake for 15 minutes or until pale golden. Cool slightly, and serve warm with butter or mock Devonshire Cream.

Mock Devonshire Cream

Equal parts Sour Cream and Cool Whip blended together. Sounds nasty, tastes great!