These scones are purposely not very sweet, and are in fact, truly cranberry: very tart. I should mention though that in spite of this, both girls ate their sample pieces with zero issues. That's part of the reason that I only included one cup of cranberries in the recipe — I wanted to give them a good buttery cushion for a contrast of flavors. The sprinkle of turbinado sugar at the end helps, but if you're worried the tartness will be too much for you, you can increase the amount of granulated sugar within the recipe.
These are large bakery-style scones. For smaller scones, to sit amongst other baked goods on a buffet, or to be a part of a brunch spread, form the dough into two smaller rounds (still one inch high) and cut each round into six triangles. Start checking these in the oven at about the 14 minute mark.
What you'll need
½ cup unsalted butter (1 stick)
⅓ cup whole milk, plus more for brushing (about ¼ cup)
1 large egg
2 cups all-purpose flour (240 grams)
¼ cup granulated sugar, divided (56 grams)
1 tablespoon baking powder (12 grams)
¾ teaspoons granulated salt
1 cup fresh cranberries (3.5 ounces), washed and dried
1 cup crumbled feta cheese (5 ounces)
Flaky salt and turbinado sugar, for sprinkling
How you'll make it
Using sharp knife, cube butter into ½-inch squares. Place butter back in the fridge, until needed.
In liquid measuring cup, whisk together ⅓ cup milk and egg. Place measuring cup back in the fridge, until needed.
In large bowl, use a fork to combine flour, baking powder, salt and 3 tablespoons sugar.
In small bowl, add remaining sugar, and one tablespoon flour mixture, to cranberries; toss to coat.
Add cold butter to flour and use your fingertips to coat the butter with flour and break the butter into small pieces, mostly the size of peas, but some will be a bit larger and some will be a bit smaller. Mix in cranberry mixture and feta cheese.
Add milk mixture to flour mixture; stir with a fork, just until combined. Alternatively, start with the fork and use your hands to completely combine. Mix just until the flour disappears—make sure not to overmix.
On a lightly floured surface, gently pat dough into a one-inch high round. Try not to touch the mixture too much, but if you do feel like your edges are looking a bit crumbly, give them a little extra attention.
Using a bench scraper or a sharp knife, quarter dough round; half each quarter, to get 8 large triangles. Transfer scones to a parchment lined baking sheet, using the bench scraper, if necessary, to remove them from the counter, several inches apart.
To bake at a later date: freeze scones two hours. Transfer to a freezer safe bag and freeze up to three months.
To bake the same day: you can bake scones right away. But, if I have any time at all, I prefer to put them in the freezer, or the very least, the fridge for 30 minutes-1 hour, to help chill everything one final time.
When ready to bake:
Heat oven to 400°F, with the rack in the center of the oven. Brush top and all sides of scones with milk; sprinkle very lightly with flaky salt and with a more generous hand, with the turbinado sugar. Bake 18-22 minutes, or until the scones are just golden around the edges and a touch on top. Let sit for a few minutes to firm up; transfer to a cooling rack.
Scones are at their best once they cool down to warm, but are still delicious, for several hours, up until the day they're made. The next day, they'll be passable: a bit dryer and no longer crisp on the outside. You can reheat them gently in a 300°F oven, just until warm.
How to plan ahead
• Cut the butter up to one day ahead of time. If storing the cut butter for longer than it takes to prepare the rest of the recipe, store in a covered container to ensure that the butter does not pick up other scents and flavors from the fridge. • The flour mixture can be stirred together days ahead of time. • The entire scone mixture can be assembled, cut and frozen up to three months ahead of time.
Recipe by at https://www.lifeaswecookit.com/fresh-cranberry-feta-scones/