Dried Cranberry and Candied Orange Peel Scones

These were not pretty because I touched them as little as possible in order not to overwork the dough, but they were amazingly delicious and zapped the late-afternoon sugar craving I had right out of my system.

It was cold and damp outside, the sky was white, and I had the sort of sugar craving that clearly needed addressing rather than ignoring in the way one often does when one is past a certain age and perhaps struggling with an extra pound, or two... Conveniently, I had just gone through my baking cupboard as part of my ongoing pantry clear-out project and had gathered together all the odds and ends of dried fruit and nuts that needed to be used. Dried cranberries and candied orange peel immediately suggested scones.

I looked at quite a few recipes online, didn't particularly like any of them, and decided to make my own. I used half whole-wheat and half regular flour, partly because there was whole-wheat flour in the cupboard that needed using, brown sugar rather than white, and a generous amount of both dried cranberries and candied orange peel. I didn't have buttermilk, so soured regular milk with a little apple cider vinegar instead. Feel free to use all purpose flour only or granulated sugar instead of brown. TThe scones will look prettier if you choose to brush them with some cream and sprinkle them with sugar before baking. You can roll them out and cut them into perfect, equal shapes if you so desire. Let's be honest, my motives were simple: since I have hot hands, I wanted to handle the dough as little as possible so that the butter would stay cold and the scones would be flaky, and to get the little buggers down my maw as quickly as the recipe and cooking time would allow. Mission accomplished in both cases, I must add.

I ate the first one still warm from the oven, split and spread with butter, and it was exactly what the afternoon required. Next time I might add some cardamom, which I think would be lovely with the orange and cranberries. Or abandon this combination entirely and make crystallized ginger scones with walnuts.

Now that it is scone weather, there is plenty of time for both.

Makes eight scones.

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup whole-wheat flour

3/4 cup dried cranberries

1/3 cup candied orange peel, chopped

1/4 cup brown sugar

8 Tbsps butter, frozen

1/2 cup milk

1 egg

2 tsps baking powder

1 1/2 tsps apple cider vinegar

1 tsp vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract

1/2 tsp salt

Stir the apple cider vinegar into the milk and leave it for 10 minutes to sour while you get on with the recipe.

Preheat the oven to 400 and line a baking tray with parchment paper.

Combine the all-purpose and whole-wheat flours, brown sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Grate the frozen butter directly into the bowl, then lightly rub it into the flour mixture with your fingertips. Don't fuss with it for too long; keeping everything cold and handling the dough as little as possible is more important than making the mixture perfectly uniform.

Once the milk has sat for 10 minutes, crack the egg into the measuring cup, add the vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract and beat everything together with a fork. Pour this into the flour and butter mixture and mix just until it begins to come together.

Add the dried cranberries and candied orange peel and work them gently through the dough.

Still in the bowl, fold the dough over itself a few times, handling it as little as possible. Turn it onto the prepared baking tray and gently pat it into a round. Refrigerate for 15 minutes.

Cut the chilled round into eight wedges and separate them on the tray so there is room between them. Bake for 22 to 25 minutes. To check that they are done, turn one over: the bottom should be crisp and nicely browned, and the scone should sound hollow when rapped on its underside.

Let them rest on a rack until they are cool enough to handle and eat, keeping in mind that these are particularly good still warm, split and spread generously with butter.