Fresh Cranberry Oatmeal Scones

If my favorite food of the fall/winter seasons is pumpkin my second favorite is cranberries.  I always buy a bunch of extra bags when they go on sale and throw them in the freezer so I have some on hand when they disappear from the stores.  I've learned from experience that the frozen variety can be hard to find in stores when I need them.  This year I got a little carried away when the price dropped to 2 for $3 the week before Thanksgiving.  Need cranberries in June this summer?  Give me a call, I'm sure I'll still have them.

These are a bit different from a traditional scone because of the added heartiness from the oatmeal.  They also aren't the prettiest scones ever, but they are tasty.  I made them for our Thanksgiving breakfast but didn't post them then because three cranberry posts in one week seemed like it was pushing it.  Plus these would make an a great addition to Christmas breakfast as well, they could even be prepped the night before and refrigerated on the cookie sheet for easy baking in the morning.

Majority of cranberry scone recipes I've found call for dried cranberries, which could be used here in a pinch, but I really think the whole berries are better with the heartiness of the oatmeal.  The dough was a little temperamental for me, both sticky and crumbly at the same time, but it came together when patted into a circle on the counter.

 Fresh Cranberry Oatmeal Scones
Adapted from Right at Home
(Makes 8 scones)

2 cups cake flour
3/4 cup rolled oats
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup fresh or thawed frozen cranberries, rinsed
1 egg
1/2 cup buttermilk
6 tablespoons very cold butter, cut into pieces

Preheat oven to 400°F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  (I wouldn't recommend skipping this step, burst cranberries are not easy to scrub off a cookie sheet)
In a large mixing bowl whisk together cake flour, oats, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.  Using a pastry blender or two forks cut in the butter until the flour mixture resembles large crumbs. In a small bowl toss cranberries with the granulated sugar and then stir into flour mixture.  
In a separate bowl whisk together the egg and buttermilk.  Stir into flour mixture.  Dough will be fairly sticky and may not come together completely in the bowl.  If it's very dry stir in another tablespoon or so of buttermilk.
Sprinkle some flour onto counter top or cutting board and turn dough out onto floured surface.  Using floured hands gently pat the dough into a circle that is approximately 3/4 of an inch thick.  Cut the dough into 8 wedges and place each wedge onto the prepared baking sheet.
Bake in preheated oven 15-16 minutes until browned.  Remove from cookie sheet to a cooling rack and let cool about 10 minutes before glazing.

Quick Powdered Sugar Glaze

1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2-3 tablespoons milk

Whisk together powdered sugar, vanilla, and 1 tablespoon milk.  Add more milk 1/2 tablespoon at a time until the glaze is the desired consistency.  Drizzle over scones.