The bird’s are twittering the scone of spring… er, song of spring.

March 24, 2010 at 3:39 pm | Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments
Tags: baking, birthday, breakfast, brunch, career, cranberry oat scone, life, motherhood, parents, recipe, sour cream, spring, stay-at-home, type a personality

Spring is officially here. I think that spring is probably my second favourite season. The coming of spring means the start of nice weather, which makes me smile.

This year, though, spring has come too soon. Well, not spring but my birthday. Yes, my birthday is near and I am dreading it. I really don’t want to add another number to my age.

I know that most people probably think that I am overreacting about my age but they just don’t understand. The fact that I don’t have a career by now is troubling to me, which probably has to do with the fact that I have a type A personality (my husband likes to say that I am type A plus plus personality).

If you happen to come across my grade one diary you would find it filled with entries about how well I did on tests and my dreams about going to university. What kind of ridiculous six-year-old writes about that stuff? Probably a child who is type A.

When I got to university I was determined to finish early so I could establish a career sooner. Not only would I take summer classes but I had an over-limit course load in which I needed to get the dean’s approval for (seven courses for one semester).

I would probably still be in school working on my second degree but my husband got this amazing job. While I am so grateful for the career opportunities that he gets, I can’t help but feel unaccomplished. I know, however, that one day I will be able to establish my own successful career.

For now, I am just trying to be the best stay-at-home mother/wife I can be. And, since spring always reminds me of scones (I have no idea why) I whipped up a batch.

These scones are a bit more moist than most scones I have tried albeit I have never had a homemade scone. While they are moist, I think they still maintain the integrity of what makes a scone a scone.

Cranberry Oat Scones
Ingredients:

• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 cup unsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes
• 1 cup dried cranberries
• 1 cup rolled-oats
• 1 egg
• 1 tbsp milk

Method:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix together sour cream and baking soda in a small bowl and set aside.

In a large bowl, sift together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Using a pastry blended (or two forks) cut in the butter until it resembles coarse crumbs.

Stir in rolled oats and cranberries. Then, stir in the sour cream a little bit at a time. The dough will start to come together.

On a clean surface, flip out the dough. Knead together the dough so that it fully comes together.

Once all the dough has become one big piece, lightly flour the countertop. For dough into a ball and then roll out into a disc that is about 7 inches in diameter and 1 inch thick.

Cut into eight equal pieces.

Place scones on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

In a small cup beat together the egg and milk. Using a pastry brush, brush the scones with the egg wash (two coats per scone).

Bake in a preheated oven for 25-30 minutes or until scones are brown and a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the middle of a scone.

Serve warm or at room temperature with butter, jam, clotted cream or by itself.