Bacon Cranberry Scones With Citrus Basil Butter Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Combine the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Zest the lime with a grater and add 1 teaspoon of the zest to the bowl.
• Cut the lime in half and squeeze the juice from one half into a small bowl. Reserve the other half of the lime for later. Add the milk to the bowl with the lime juice. The milk will curdle, producing buttermilk!
• Add the finely cut butter to the flour mixture and gently rub it with your hands or use a pastry blender until it is coarse and mealy; you don't want to work it in completely. Stir in the frozen cranberries.
• Whisk the egg into the milk mixture in the small bowl. Add the liquid from the small bowl into the butter-flour-and-cranberry mixture, folding until the dough just comes together.
• On a lightly floured surface, press the dough into a 1-inch-thick round disk. Cut the disk into 8 slices.
• Grease or spray a heavy baking sheet with butter or nonstick spray. Evenly space the dough wedges on the sheet. Squeeze the remaining lime half over top of each wedge to create a "glue," then sprinkle with the raw sugar. Bake, rotating the sheet halfway through, until the tops of the scones are golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes.

Steps:

• In a small saucepan, combine the cranberries and the orange juice and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Remove from the heat and allow to soak for 30 minutes. Drain the cranberries in a sieve and chop them finely. When they are cool, combine with the butter and the confectioners sugar and beat with a wooden spoon until completely combined. Pack into small ramekins or roll into a tube in heavy plastic wrap. Refrigerate until needed, then remove from the refrigerator 15 minutes before serving.