KYFB Monthly Cooking Challenge: Lemon Cranberry Scones

The Kentucky Food Bloggers are starting a monthly cooking challenge, and for January we are starting off with citrus. I have always hated when recipes call for one tablespoon of lemon juice, what am I supposed to do with the rest of the lemon? Keep in the fridge until the next time another recipe calls for lemon juice/peel then discover that months-old lemon is already moldy? I went for the cheap way, those 99 cents yellow and green squeeze bottles sure come in handy. But this means artificial flavored lemon juice = weird and fake taste.

"A splash of lemon juice can enhance the natural flavor of any ingredients, just as a dash of salt does."
- Joy of Cooking

My favorite citrus to use is Meyer lemons, a lemon-tangerine cross, are less tart and pungent and often used in dessert, salads, and fruit salads. I love the pungent citrus scent of the Meyer lemons.  Sometimes I wish I live in California, so I can plant lemon trees and have lemons whenever I please. Perhaps I can convince Jake to buy me a dwarf Meyer lemon plan. These scones are perfect with a cup of hot tea, and for those who stocked up fresh cranberries after Thanksgiving (I might have 3 or 4 bags somewhere in the freezer...).

Lemon Cranberry Scones
Recipe from Gourmet

2 tablespoons freshly grated lemon zest (from about 3 lemons; preferably Meyer)
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar plus 3 tablespoons additional if using fresh cranberries
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, cut into bits
1 1/4 cups fresh cranberries, chopped coarse, or 1 1/4 cups dried cranberries or dried cherries
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 cup heavy cream

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. With a vegetable peeler or a zester remove the zest from lemons and chop fine, reserving lemons for another use.

3. In a food processor pulse flour, 1/2 cup sugar, baking powder, salt, butter and zest until mixture resembles coarse meal and transfer to a large bowl.

4. In a small bowl toss together fresh cranberries and 3 tablespoons sugar and stir into flour mixture. If using dried fruit, add to flour mixture.

5. In another small bowl lightly beat egg and yolk and stir in cream. Add egg mixture to flour mixture and stir until just combined.

6. On a well-floured surface with floured hands pat dough into a 1-inch-thick round (about 8 inches in diameter) and with a 2-inch round cutter or rim of a glass dipped in flour cut out as many rounds as possible, rerolling scraps as necessary. Arrange rounds about 1 inch apart on baking sheet and bake in middle of oven 15 to 20 minutes, or until pale golden.*The dough was too sticky for my to work with, I used a large cookie scope to measure out dough directly onto baking sheet.

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