Maybe I should open a bakery

So I’ve been baking and cooking like a mad woman lately. I love this. In the past week I’ve made:

Cranberry-Orange Scones

Caramelized Shallot Mashed Potatoes

Guinness Beef Stew

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie (seriously to die for)

Crumpets ß--- Major pain in the ass but quite yummy

and a Dutch Crumble Apple Pie

This weekend I’ll be making:

Scones & Crumpets again

Fairy cakes (really just mini vanilla cupcakes with cream cheese frosting)

Lemon Tart with Raspberry Sauce

and finally a Strawberry Mascarpone Tart with Port Wine glaze

Guess how much of this is for me? Yep, pretty much none of it, but my friends appreciate it. I know the guys at work certainly do. I’m afraid I may be spoiling them a bit. I can’t help it though. It’s really nice for me to have people to do things for. It makes me feel useful and wanted which is something that I don’t usually feel.

I thought I’d share some recipes over the next few days. These are probably the best scones I’ve ever had if I do say so myself. I know, I know, I’m super modest. I may have a lot of self-doubt, but not when it comes to my baking. Give them a try, you won’t be disappointed.

Cranberry-Orange Scones

Ingredients:

3 cups all purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon grated orange peel
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
3/4 cup dried cranberries
1 cup chilled buttermilk

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 400°F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.

Sift flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda into large bowl.

Mix in orange peel.

Add butter and rub in with fingertips until mixture resembles coarse meal ( just threw all this stuff in the food processor which is much easier).

Mix in dried cranberries.

Gradually add buttermilk, tossing with fork until moist clumps form.

Turn dough out onto lightly floured work surface. Knead briefly to bind dough, about 4 turns. Form dough into 1-inch-thick round. Cut into 8 wedges. Transfer wedges to prepared baking sheet, spacing 2 inches apart.

Bake until tops of scones are golden brown, about 25 minutes. Let stand on baking sheet 10 minutes. Serve scones warm or at room temperature.