Leftover Thanksgiving Cranberry Sauce Scones

Total Time: 30 mins Preparation Time: 15 mins Cook Time: 15 mins

Ingredients

• 2 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 tablespoons butter, unsalted, cold, cut into 8 dice
• 1 egg
• 1 cup half-and-half, plus more for glazing
• 1/2 cup cranberry sauce
• 1 teaspoon orange zest
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/3 cup sugar

Recipe

• 1 preheat the oven to 425.
• 2 in a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. add orange zest. using your hands, rub the butter into the flour mixture, squeezing, rubbing, pinching with your fingers until the mixture resembles a coarse meal and there are no butter lumps bigger than a pea.
• 3 in a small bowl, combine the 1/2 c half-and-half and the egg, beating well. add the cranberry sauce and stir well. pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir gently just to combine. the dough will look dry and shaggy, and there may be some unincorporated flour at the bottom of the bowl. don't worry about that. use your hands to press the dough into a rough mass.
• 4 turn the dough and any excess flour out onto a board or countertop. press, gather, and knead it until it just comes together. you really should not knead it more than 12 times. no matter what, do not overwork it, or the scones won't be tender. due to the cranberry sauce, this particular version is so sticky that it's hard to even knead it a few times, but keep an eye out if you are trying a drier version.) again, don't worry about it if there is excess flour. as soon as it holds together, pat it out into a circle that is 1-inch thick. cut with a knife into 8 wedges.
• 5 line a baking tray parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. transfer the scones as best you can. (mine were so sticky that i had to lightly pat them back into shape on the baking tray.) pour a tiny bit of half-and-half into a little cup. use a pastry brush or your fingertips to gently brush/pat some half-and-half on the top of each scone.
• 6 bake for 10-15 mins., or until pale golden. transfer to a rack to cool slightly, but then do let yourself have one right away, while it's still warm. with a pat of butter.
• 7 note: if you want to freeze them, wrap them in aluminum foil and put in a freezer bag or container. bring to room temp and then warm in a low oven (300 degrees), toaster oven, or in a wide-slotted toaster set to "warm." (i recommend warming them even if you don't freeze them first!).