Lisette's Cooking Adventures: Cranberry Scones

Teatime - a traditional afternoon break taken mid-afternoon with a small sweet snack. This British tradition has left its mark on many ex patriots of the British era and has been maintained in the generations that followed.

I remember my dad asking if I was ready to make tea in the afternoon whenever he was at my place, and mum and myself were busily talking. This was almost every Saturday after our children were born. My mum would say " why are you troubling Lisette?", and I would lovingly respond "Its coming dad". My cupboards were always filled with cookies, or some Indian savory snacks that were purposefully kept for teatime with my parents. Teatime was special as we sipped our tea gingerly and chatted, laughed and shared precious memories that would last forever. During those years when our children were young, between work and driving the kids to school and after-school activities we rarely had time for this leisurely custom except on week-ends.

We would also occasionally take a drive with my parents to remote areas of Ontario that served High Tea and have a fun-filled afternoon. High Tea is a tradition borrowed from Devon and Cornwall in England, but has now become quite a fixture in many Commonwealth countries particularly in high priced hotels and Inns.

Typically High tea is served with a nice strong brew of tea in good English China and accompanied with scones and clotted cream. Nowadays a high tea may also be accompanied with assorted finger foods and sweets.

This recipe for scones is so simple and versatile I hope you do try it, and do not forget to brew a nice hot cup of tea to go with it. It tastes delicious with butter, jam or sweetened clotted cream. These scones are not very sweet so you could also add a drizzle of glaze over it before serving.

Now that I am a grandmother I made these scones with my older grandson who will be three in March 2021. It was a real pleasure having my helper measure and mix the ingredients. He had fun pressing out the dough and with my help and a plastic knife we cut the scones into triangles. After the scones came out of the oven he wanted to paint them so I made a glaze and he added the color to it, red, green and blue in three batches. He then used a pastry brush to paint the scones with Nama's paint that you can eat ( food coloring) . The final product did not look so great but the added glaze gave it the perfect sweetness for my palate.

My father passed away in June 2016 but he is always with me, particularly at teatime. For his one year death anniversary we celebrated with a High Tea to remember him. He would have loved it, scones, clotted cream and many assorted sandwiches and sweets. Oh one more thing, my dad had to be served in a fine China cup. Hence would you blame me if I love to have my tea in a good China cup....believe me it tastes better!

Notes: Alternative additions if you don't like cranberries

Blueberries
raisins
raspberries ( and white chocolate chips)
chocolate chips
any chopped dried fruit

Ingredients

2 cups all purpose flour

2 Tablespoons granulated sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup sprite, other lime or lemon based carbonated drink, or clubsoda

1/4 cup olive oil or other vegetable oil

1 teaspoon lemon extract

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

1 cup cranberries (fresh or frozen), I used frozen

Method

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit

In a large bowl add the flour sugar baking powder and salt. Using a whisk stir well to mix all the ingredients

Add the cranberries to the flour mixture mix well. Make sure the cranberries are coated with flour this will help them stay well distributed.

In another bowl add the oil and the lemon and vanilla extracts. lastly add the carbonated liquid. Immediately add to the flour mixture and mix with a wooden spoon or spatula to form a smooth dough.

Flour your hands and finish pulling the dough together.

Divide the dough into 2 parts

Form each section into a ball. Flatten gently with your hands to form a rough circle about 1 inch thick.

Cut each circle into 6 sections ( like a pie). You will get 12 triangular pieces from the 2 balls.

Lay the raw scones on parchment lined cookie sheet and bake for 9- 12 minutes in a preheated oven. The scones will be ready when they are lightly browned .