What's Cookin' v.9 » Raspberry Ricotta Scones

A couple Sunday's ago, I paid a visit to my sister and Cara in Santa Barbara and we had an impromptu baking session in the afternoon before heading back to LA. On the menu: some fancy scones from the Smitten Kitchen cookbook {so many delicious gems in there}. They were super simple to whip up, and even better with a bit of butter and a drizzle of honey on top. If you're feeling particularly ambitious, make the homemade ricotta cheese to use in this recipe. It makes a world of difference...

Serving Size: 8

Ingredients
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon table salt
6 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter
1 cup fresh raspberries
3/4 cup whole milk ricotta
1/3 cup heavy cream

Directions
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. In the bottom of a large, wide-ish bowl, whisk flours, baking powder, sugar and salt together.

Cut the butter into small pieces with a knife and work the butter into the flour mixture with your fingertips until the mixture resembles a coarse meal. Roughly chop the raspberries on a cutting board and stir them into the butter-flour mixture.

Transfer the dough to a well-floured counter, flour the top of the dough and pat it into a 7-inch circle, about 1-inch tall. With a large knife, divide the dough into 8 even slices. Transfer the scones to prepared baking sheet with a spatula. Bake the scones for about 15 minutes, until lightly golden at the edges. Cool in pan for a minute, then transfer to a cooling rack. It’s best to cool them about halfway before eating them, so they can set a bit more.

Note: Though we didn't have a pastry blender for this venture, you can make your life a bit easier with one. Smitten Kitchen provides directions for both routes here.

PS. A big thanks to Heidi Swanson for mentioning our What's Cookin' column in her Favorites List a few weeks back. We were, for lack of a better word, smitten.

{Photos by Cara Robbins | Recipe from Smitten Kitchen}