Not too challenging raspberry scones.

Scones have always been a nemesis of mine, specifically because they require skill in the art of "cutting in butter." You know, like all those recipies in Gourmet magazine or your grandma's cookbook, that sound scrumptious and not too bad until you reach the step "Working a little at a time, cut 1 stick of cold butter into the flour mixture until it forms a coarse crumble." If you're like me, that's the point at which you put down the cook book and pick up the brownie mix box.

Let me assure you, your days of fear, like mine, can be over after you try this recipe - specifically because it lets you cheat with other liquids.

Not too Challenging Raspberry Scones

1 3/4 c white flour $.20
1 1/3 c quick or old fashioned oats $.17
1/3 c sugar (increase by 2T if coconut is unsweetened) $.08
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/3 c shredded coconut $.25
1/4 c (that's 1/2 stick) butter, refridgerator temperature $.25
3/4 c milk $.23
1 T lemon juice
1/2 c fresh or frozen raspberries, blueberries, or diced peaches $.37 (for frozen storebrand blueberries)

Total Cost: $1.56
Number of Servings: 8 (slightly smaller than cafe serving size)
Cost per serving: $.19

To Make:

1. Combine dry ingredients in a LARGE bowl (the largest you have is probably good) using a flat spatula.
2. Remove butter from fridge and plop the half stick right into the bowl of dry ingredients then, using a pastry cutter or two sharp knives (that's right, I'm that hard core) cut the butter in half, then in fourths, and so on until you lose track, tossing the mixture periodically to coat the chunks of butter in flour. If you work this way, they won't stick to one another (or the knife) and will get evenly distributed. You want the pieces of butter to look like little tiny peas mixed into the flour when you are all done.
3. Now the fun part. Add the milk in three or four strips across the top of the flour mixture, so it will combine easier (throw the lemon juice wherever you want). Using the flat spatula, combine the ingredients until the dough is a little mushy. I have learned that the rule with any dough is to err on the side of too wet - it is easier to evenly add a small amount of dry, rather than wet, ingredients to adjust the texture.
4. Push the dough off to one side of the bowl and add a small amount of flour to the bottom of the bowl. Then, coating your hands in the flour, knead the dough, adding small portions of flour into the bottom of the bowl and working it into the dough until the dough no longer sticks to your hands and feels elastic.
5. Gather up the dough into as smooth a ball as you can make, and transfer it onto a greased cookie sheet. Pressing from the top center of the ball, flatten it out into a 12" diameter circle. Lastly, take your berries and press them into the top. If you are brave and have frozen berries, you could add them at the end of your kneading, but fresh berries will just squish, not look very pretty, and alter the consistency of the dough. You could brush with oil or egg wash at this point if you want the shiny top to your scones.
6. Bake, uncovered, for 20 min at 375 degrees F (or until puffy and lightly browned on top)

Why I Love This Recipe: It sounds complicated to make (mostly because being concise is not my strong point) but once you've tried it, you'll realize it's quite simple. This morning it took me 20 min of prep and 20 min to bake. I did the dishes while it was baking and voila! Scones were done/kitchen was clean. Also, if you use skim milk, this is a very low fat, relatively low sugar scone recipe. No egg, only 1/2 stick of butter is on the skinny side for scones, so you can eat one for a snack without feeling guilty!

Frugal Tips

• Free is good! We picked our raspberries out of a friend's yard, for free - but that's not the only place we've gotten free food from recently. When a client brought in an Edible arrangement to my internship site last week and no one wanted the last few pieces of fruit, I brought the whole arrangement home. Why? Well, the fruit made a nice accompainment to breakfast the next morning, but the greens in the arrangement (kale, the same stuff the put in the seafood case at the supermarket) were washed and boiled in a delicious curry I made the next night.
• Baked goods are a secret place to make the "meh" fruit really shine. You know the "not the best but still a good buy" rack in the corner of the produce department? Pears, peaches, and berries that have seen better days may not be the best to eat out of hand, but will make delicious baked items where their flavor, rather than their texture or appearance, counts. Baking fruit also intensifies the natural sugars, to make imperfectly ripe fruit perfectly tasty.
• If you're like me and live in a place where central air conditioning (or window air conditioning) is still a pipe dream, don't delay when baking. I made these scones right after eating breakfast and turned the fan on while I went out for a bit. It's the afternoon now, and I haven't suffered any heat stroke yet!