Five Cheese and Cranberry Scones

A different twist on the classic cranberry scone, this recipe mixes the sweet cranberries with the salty, and more mild authentic Mexican cheeses to create a unique blend. 

Second post of the year and can you believe I am already failing at condiments? There should be a flavored butter with these scones! I considered doing a jam...but really, when it came down to it these scones were already packed with flavor. Between Mexican cheeses and cranberries it was hard to come up with another flavor I felt like would be able to balance between the two. So.......I didn't.

Balance has been the word of the week. I have been going through all my work spaces and trying to create a bit more balance. I have no balance in my life. I'm not kidding. At all, So my friend says "I'm actually working right now because I'm bored not doing work." My response:

Oh, you mean how my “day off” has consisted of posting my work to 6 sites, baking scones, photographing them, making two types of ice cream, photographing them, editing them, tweaking recipes, reading 2 chapters in small businesses for dummies and beginning to write a business plan and build my own access database to track the cash flow of my projects. YEP. And that's a relaxing day off.

......yeah. You know what's sad? I really thought of it as a relaxing day! HA! I need help. I can't even just sit and watch a movie without opening my laptop and researching for a new article or recipe. UGH. So, maybe it's good that I didn't come up with a butter for the scones. Maybe that is just what I needed: a little balance.

I do really enjoy the scones. My poor roommate got put through a few trial runs before I finally found the right combination. We were eating scones all weekend. But who's gonna complain about that right?

Five Cheese and Cranberry Scones

2 cups all purpose flower
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons chilled, unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
1/2 cup dried cranberries

1 ½ cups authentic Mexican cheese blend (Queso Quesadilla, Asadero, Queso Gallego, El Regalo, Anejo Enchilado and Manchego cheeses, NO Pepper Jack!)
1 cup heavy cream

1 egg white

Preheat oven to 425°F.

In a stand mixer combine flour, baking powder, and salt in large bowl or work bowl of food processor fitted with whisk attachment. Mix together on a low speed.

Add in butter and mix on a medium speed until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add in cranberries and cheese. 

Switch to using a dough hook.

Add in cream and mix on a medium speed until it comes together into a rough, sticky ball. Roll dough out on a floured surface into a circle. You may either cut into wedges or using a biscuit cutter, cut into small rounds.

 Place rounds or wedges on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Brush tops with egg white and bake until scone tops are light brown, 12 to 15 minutes.

Enjoy! 

Chocolate Chip Cranberry Cookie Mix in a Jar

It's December! Welcome to the Holiday season! To kick it off here is one great holiday gift idea: cookie mix in a jar! Perfect to take to friends and neighbors! 

Alright, I am back from vacation and the holiday season is staring me right in the face. Somehow planning my United Kingdom adventure I forgot that when I got back it would be breathing down my neck. I'm not ready. I've only done limited shopping for one friend, and one sister. So, today begins my mad dash to get gifting in order for my friends and family. You'd think seeing this jar that I'm well on my way. I am. Just not for my own people. This lovely little jar is one of forty-eight that were made for a local DC area battered women's shelter. I gathered together nearly fifty fabulous women together and we made a night of it a few weeks ago. It was really something to see so many of my friends pitching in together and making these gifts, working in teams, and really getting creative...mostly because I didn't have enough of the measurement tools we needed! Oops! I'll have to work on owning six 3/4 cup measurement cups for next year! Silly me, I only have two! 

The instructions are simple and I've included them via photo! So simple! You can download the photo and you are ready to print them for yourselves and make your own!  

Here are the instructions: 

And here is the attachment sheet alone. That way you can print multiples onto a page! 

Yep! There ya go! There's just one of the holiday ideas I'll have coming to you this month! Not to mention posts about my vacation once I get a minute to sit down and look through my photos! 

Enjoy!