Bacon Cranberry Scones With Citrus Basil Butter Food

CHERRY-CITRUS SCONES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Work the butter into the flour mixture with your fingers until it resembles a coarse meal. Stir in the cherries and orange zest.
• Beat together 1 of the eggs and 4 tablespoons of the heavy cream in a small bowl. Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and mix with a fork until the dough just comes together. If the dough seems dry, add the remaining 1 tablespoon heavy cream.
• Dust a work surface with flour. Turn the dough out onto the floured surface. Pat into a disk about 7 inches wide and about 1/2 inch thick. Cut out rounds using a 2 1/2-inch biscuit cutter. Gather and reroll the scraps and repeat. Place the scones on the prepared baking sheet. Beat the remaining egg in a small bowl. Brush the scones with the egg. Bake until golden brown, about 14 minutes.

CRANBERRY SCONES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Combine the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Zest the lime with a grater and add 1 teaspoon of the zest to the bowl.
• Cut the lime in half and squeeze the juice from one half into a small bowl. Reserve the other half of the lime for later. Add the milk to the bowl with the lime juice. The milk will curdle, producing buttermilk!
• Add the finely cut butter to the flour mixture and gently rub it with your hands or use a pastry blender until it is coarse and mealy; you don't want to work it in completely. Stir in the frozen cranberries.
• Whisk the egg into the milk mixture in the small bowl. Add the liquid from the small bowl into the butter-flour-and-cranberry mixture, folding until the dough just comes together.
• On a lightly floured surface, press the dough into a 1-inch-thick round disk. Cut the disk into 8 slices.
• Grease or spray a heavy baking sheet with butter or nonstick spray. Evenly space the dough wedges on the sheet. Squeeze the remaining lime half over top of each wedge to create a "glue," then sprinkle with the raw sugar. Bake, rotating the sheet halfway through, until the tops of the scones are golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes.

BACON SCONES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°. In a large bowl, combine first five ingredients. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. In a small bowl, whisk eggs and milk. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in onion, cheese and two-thirds of the bacon., Transfer dough to a greased baking sheet. Pat into a 7-1/2-in. circle. Cut into eight wedges, but do not separate. Sprinkle with remaining bacon. Bake 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm.