Cranberry Orange Scones

The restless frenetic energy of prednisone, coupled with my recent obsession with the food network and food blogs has led to some surprising successes in the kitchen. While not as gratifying as getting an A or watching a student 'get it' I must say there's something amazing about cranberry orange scones.

Not just any cranberry orange scones--gluten free cranberry orange scones. My mom is allergic to wheat, but not so allergic that she doesn't try and eat all the breads I'm trying--she just feels ill afterward. So I decided to make her scones.

The recipe I had was for typical wheat scones, and included a hefty amount of butter and buttermilk--neither of which I can eat on my current doctor-imposed diet. So, with a little online research I decided to try subbing butter and buttermilk with fat-free cream and cottage cheeses. *Note-in the past my substitutions have always turned out very badly* Because of my vague understanding of the science of baking from watching hours of Alton Brown 'Good Eats,' I decided to just keep adding the dairy products until the dough looked like it usually does when I use butter.

Using the Kitchen-aid in my spotless pantry, I watched as the dough turned to perfect scone consistency. In triumph I added the orange zest and dried cranberries. I was convinced that I had succeeded.

Except I hadn't. At all. The flour mixture I used contained bean flours, and even the zest and cranberries couldn't cut through the acrid taste. Bean flours are great if you're making an artisanal bread---not great when you just want to taste sugar-ey goodness.

With my energy flagging, I glanced around the pantry to find something to save my concoction from the compost heap. Triple-Sec. I like Rum Cake. Why not add a touch of citrus flavored alcohol? It was worth a try. I added about a shot and tasted the dough. Better.

By this point, I had been up and moving for more than I ought to, so I wrapped the dough in wax paper and popped it into the refrigerator, from whence I retrieved it and baked it today.

And they're good. Really good. If you've had the ones at Starbuck's that are a bit too dry and taste vaguely like preservatives and cinnamon, you need to try one of these scones. Unfortunately, I will never be able to recreate the recipe, because I simply started throwing in what looked about right. And that's really the problem with baking, you never know when a disaster will end up being a masterpiece.