"R is for . . . "

Greetings,

Most people I know seem to fall into two categories.  they either love to cook - or they love to bake.  I fall into the latter group.  Baking bread.  Making pies.  For me it's the perfect balance of art and science.

Yes.  This is the day you've been waiting for.  Yes.  It's true.  I'm going to share my famous scone recipe.  When I first began working on the "Love Letters" series, I knew from the very beginning that "R" would be for recipes.  And this is one of my most popular.

And to celebrate the first few days of actually Fall weather here in San Francisco - let's try something with a nice Fall attitude - Pomegranate Scones.

Here's what you'll need:

2 cups of all-purpose flour
1/3 cup of sugar
1 tablespoon of baking powder
6 tablespoons of chilled butter
1 lemon
1/3 cups of pomegranate seeds
1 beaten egg
1/2 cup of half and half

for garnish:
1 tablespoon of half and half
2 tablespoon of sugar

preheat oven to 400 degrees.

And away we go . . .

Combine all dry ingredients (flour, sugar, and baking power) in a large bowl.

Use a pastry cutter to incorporate the chilled butter.

Combine the beaten egg with the half and half - and add to the dry mixture.

Stir just until moistened.

Add the juice of one lemon.

Add 1/3 cup of pomegranate seeds to mixture and stir lightly.

Turn dough out onto a floured surface and kneed 12 to 15 strokes.

(when you first turn the dough out, it will still be slightly separated.

after kneeding, the dough should begin to form into a ball)

Divide the dough into two equal pieces.

Pat, or lightly roll, each section into a small disc about a 1/2 inch in thickness.

Cut the dough into six pieces.

After placing on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper - garnish each scone by

brushing with half and half and adding a light sprinkling of sugar.

My kitchen tends to run fairly warm whilst I'm cooking - so I usually place the cookie sheet in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes to re-chill the butter before baking.

Bake at 400 degrees for about 12 to 15 minutes.

And there you have it.  Warm.  Yummy.  And practically bursting with Fall flavours.

As options for the pomegranate seeds, I've used dried cranberries.  Or chopped walnuts.  Even miniature chocolate chips.  

Happy eating,

Scot

all photography, Scot Meacham Wood