Cranberry Scones With Fresh Lemon Curd

We are so excited to introduce you to a brand new food contributor here at Eighteen25. You are going to love her because her food is AMAZING and her photography is BREATHTAKING! (yes. food photography can be breathtaking. just wait and see.) Please welcome Cindy Larkin... we just know you'll enjoy getting to know her and her food!

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"Choose a job you love and you will never have to work a day in your life". -Confucious

I LOVE being a photographer. It's something I'd do, even if I didn't get paid. And when it comes to food photography, that is exactly where I started... doing it at home, not getting paid. LOL! That didn't matter, though. I love being in the kitchen creating beautiful food pictures. As a bonus, I have a husband and 3 teenage boys who love to eat, so it is definitely a win-win situation. ;)

As a creative outlet, I started building an online cookbook with my favorite pictures and recipes, and my Food Blog and Pinterest pages were born! I was recently hired on as one of the newest food photographers for Las Vegas Magazine, so be on the look-out for some more gorgeous food images from me in the next few months!

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If you have friends coming over for a Girls Day brunch, or the in-laws just for a short visit, this is the perfect recipe to make your guests feel special.

These scones are very simple, and light, but may fool your guests into thinking you slaved in the kitchen for hours. (I'll never tell!) Plus the fresh lemon curd is like sunshine in your mouth!!

INGREDIENTS:
2 cubes of butter, cold from the fridge
1 1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup sour cream
2 cups flour,
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon table salt
2 teaspoon lemon zest

DIRECTIONS:
1. In a medium sized mixing bowl add flour, sugar, baking powder, soda, salt, and lemon zest.

2. Cut butter into thin slices with a knife and toss into the flour mixture, squishing between fingers until it is coated and mixed thoroughly throughout, and becomes crumbly.

3. Add milk and sour cream; mix with a wooden spoon or a rubber spatula until it becomes doughy and can be rolled into a ball.

4 . With rubber spatula, transfer dough to liberally floured work surface. With floured hands, knead dough 6 to 8 times, until it just holds together in ragged ball. Place in the freezer for about 5-10 minutes to chill.

5. Once the dough is chilled, transfer dough to floured work surface and sprinkle the dried cranberries onto the dough and knead them in, until it the cranberries are evenly dispersed throughout the dough.

6. Roll dough, pressing to form tight rectangular log. Then press into a rectangle about 1/2 inch thick. Using a sharp knife, cut rectangle lengthwise into 2 rectangles. Cut out triangular shapes and place on a greased cookie sheet.

7. Bake at *425 or until tops and bottoms are golden brown, 18 to 25 minutes. Brush tops with melted butter and sprinkle with course granulated sugar.

8. Transfer to wire rack and let cool 10 minutes before serving.

LEMON CURD
1/2 cup fresh squeeze lemon juice
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. lemon zest
6 egg yolks

1. whisk lemon juice, sugar, and lemon zest in a medium sauce pan
2. add egg yolks
3. on medium heat cook until it becomes thick; once thick take off heat
4. If there are lumps due to the egg not being divided well, pour through a strainer to get out all the lumps; discard lumps and zest. If there are no lumps, I usually like to leave the zest in.
5. Cool completely and serve with scones.