Turkey Day Sweets: Cranberry Almond Scones

I'm just gonna say it, I hate pumpkin pie. I don't get it, I don't like it, and I don't make it, so I always try to make something different for Thanksgiving festivities. We didn't do a dinner this year, so instead of some big decadent dessert, I threw together some fall-flavored scones to go with the several hundred litres of tea I have downed this weekend. They're pretty delicious, and since I haven't fallen off the wagon with a massive turkey dinner, I've let myself have one or two. Or three. Let's leave it at two for my conscience's sake though, and move along to the recipe!

Ingredients:

2 cups cake & pastry flour

4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup sugar
5 tbsp cold butter
3/4 cup milk
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp almond extract
3/4 cup cranberries, halved & tossed in 2 tbsp sugar

Directions:

1) Move oven shelf to slightly higher than the center of the oven. You want your scones closer to the top element than the bottom. Preheat oven to 350. 

2) Stir vinegar and almond extract into milk- mixture will thicken and curdle slightly. Set aside.

2) Mix flour, baking powder, salt and sugar together in a large bowl.

3) Cut butter into small cubes, and use a fork to cut it into the flour mixture.

4) Use fingertips to lift mixture and rub butter into flour until there are no pieces larger than pea-size.

5) Mix sugared cranberries into bowl.

6) Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour milk in.

7) Using a small fork, mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, starting to use your hands as the dough forms. Use your hands to knead the dough, scraping all the dry ingredients in the bowl into one elastic ball.

8) Pat the dough out on a floured board to about 1/3" thick, and cut with a pastry cutter.

9) Place cut scones 1" apart on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Brush with eggwash, and let rest for ten minutes.

10) Bake for 15 minutes, until golden brown on top. Let cool for 10 minutes.

*I drizzled them with a glaze made of 1 tsp milk and 1/4 cup icing sugar, but a dusting of icing sugar would also work just fine!