Fresh Cranberry Scones

Ah, I was lucky one day. It doesn't happen very often that I acquire totally free food. Fortunately, an associate of the company I work for send a box of fresh cranberries to the office. Only three of us wanted anything to do with them; I left happily that day with 2 pounds of the pretty little things from Wisconsin, which supposedly makes them "local" for those of us in Chicago.

I promptly threw them into the freezer and rabidly tried to find cranberry recipes. It was in this frenzy that I stumbled upon this delight. It's quite good, and 2 pounds of cranberries will make almost four batches.

1-1/2 c fresh or frozen cranberries, chopped up in a food processor
1/2 c brown sugar
zest of 1 orange (make sure it's organic unless you want to eat pesticide)
2-1/4 c all purpose flour
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
12 T. cold butter, cut into pieces
1 egg, beaten
1/2 c milk (2% works perfectly)

Heat the oven up to 350°F. Toss the cranberries with sugar and orange zest in a big bowl, then set aside. In a food processor (or regular bowl), mix up the flour, baking powder, salt, and cut in the butter. Add to the cranberry group, and mix well. Add milk and egg to this, and form a soft dough. Knead on a floured surface. Cut into rounds/wedges, or drop by the spoonful, onto a baking sheet. Bake for 25 minutes. Yields about a dozen scones.