SS Wholewheat Cranberry Scones

Well, here it is , a tried and tested recipe many times over. I got it from a teatowel that I picked up in Edinburgh, Scotland way back in 1995, with my brother and his 2 sons (then, he has 5 boys now) and my sister and her family. Our mission was to sight the Loch Ness monster, and we actually camped overnight at Loch Lomond. Well, they ( the kids) thought they caught a glimpse of Nessie's shadow in the middle of the night, while their Aunty was snoring away after a hard day of shopping. "Shopping" when I travel is not boutique crawling but more of browsing in village bookshops and handicraft stores, and I would pick gift items that might include interesting notebooks, kitchenware, cards, teaspoons which I will put to use as soon as I get home - I have loads by now - and a must, at least a teatowel or dishcloth from the place ( the way some people buy T-shirts). Lovely linen teatowels from England(or any place in the globe - unfortunately Malaysia has only one type) makes any date in the kitchen a very fulfilling session!

One such teatowel I picked up while trying to hunt down Nessie is one which featured Basic Scones. I tried it and it works, a simple recipe that can be modified with add-ons ( raisins, cranberry or even oats and nuts if you fancy so) and still turn out scrumptious. I now use wholegrain wheatflour ( really grainy and more suitable for bread but it works!) and not atta flour, which is also whole grain but more suitable for capatis. Here goes the recipe...


Basic Scones from a Scottish Tea-Towel (Survivor style)

12 oz wholegrain wheat flour
3 oz olive butter
2 tbs brown or raw sugar
pinch salt
200 ml cold milk (I use skim with ice-cold water)
2 teasp baking powder
3 oz (or more if desired) dried, preservative-free cranberry - chop into bits
1 teaspoon vanilla essence


Method:
1. Mix all dry ingredients in a mixing bowl using wooden spoon
2. Chop olive butter into little cubes and throw into flour mixture and using rub-in method, form "breadcrumbs"
3. Gradually add in vanilla essence (sprinkle) and cold milk or milk and water mix, stirring gently with wooden sppon or spatula to form a loose dough
4. Dust a pastryboard with flour and roll out dough to 1/2 inch thickness.
5. Use a 2" round cookie cutter ( or cap of small Nescafe jar will do) and cut out shape.
6. Arrange on a flat baking tray.

I get 15 pieces from the above measurements. Bake for 12-15 minutes in a hot oven (225 degrees). Smells reallt good when done, and will be golden brown in appearance, and not creamy yellow like regular scones.

Serve with olive butter and strawberry jam, best enjoyed with a steaming cup of Rooibos tea ( no more Earl grey and such). Rooibos (from S.Africa) does not contain caffeine and apparently very rich in antioxidants to knock off "bad vibes" from the sugar and fat.

If placed in an airtight jar, the scones remain fresh for 4-5 days. Well, to be quite honest, I was not able to test if they can last longer because they were all gone in 4 days.

I suppose for variety and to wipe out any bad conscience of having scones, chopped dates ( good brain and blood food), chopped rosella petals, chopped prunes and chopped permissible nuts and grains could also be used instead of regular sultanas and the cranberries. I am using cranberries because it is also rich in antioxidant and also because I have a stock that has a "Best Used By" date of July 2008!

p.s . I will try to remember to post a picture of the scones in the near future.