Birthday Scones!

My sister's birthday was this past Thursday. In her honor, even though I knew she would never eat them, I baked her birthday scones.

I can't remember how the tradition of birthday scones started, but I like to make them for people who are near and dear to me on their birthdays.

Here's the recipe. I believe it originally came from Sunset magazine where they were called Coconut Scones. I changed the name.

Birthday Scones

1 3/4 cups flour
1/2 cup sweetened coconut
1/2 cup rolled oats
3 Tbsp sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup cold butter, cut in chunks
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk

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jam, any flavor

In a large bowl, mix flour, coconut, oats, 2 tablespoons sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut in butter until mixture forms coarse crumbs. In a small bowl, beat eggs and milk to blend. Stir all but about 1 tablespoon egg mixture into flour mixture just until evenly moistened. Scrape dough onto a lightly floured board and pat into an 8-inch round. Slide round onto a buttered 12- by 15-inch baking sheet and cut into 8 wedges, leaving wedges in place. Brush top of round with reserved egg mixture and sprinkle with remaining tablespoon sugar. Make a 1-inch-diameter depression on top of the wide end of each wedge and fill each with about 1/2 tablespoon jam. Bake at 375° until golden brown, 18 to 20 minutes. Recut scones to separate and serve warm, or transfer to a rack to cool completely.

I used a homemade jam that I made a couple weeks ago in the scones. It's really yummy, but didn't set up as much as it should have. As a result, it kind of spread as the scones baked. 

If you want an easy and tasty jam recipe, try this one. It's sweet, and tart, and kind of reminds me of the strawberry-rhubarb jam my grandma always made. Isn't it pretty?

Cranberry Jam

2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries

1 orange, peeled and divided into sections

16 oz package frozen strawberries, thawed

3 cups sugar

3 oz liquid fruit pectin

5 half-pint canning jars & lids, sterilized

Coarsely grind cranberries and orange sections in a food processor; spoon into a heavy stockpot. Add strawberries and sugar. Bring mixture to a full rolling boil over high heat, stirring constantly for one minute. Remove form heat and stir in pectin. Skim off any foam and immediately pour into hot, sterilized jars; secure lids. Process jars in a boiling water bath.

Notes on the jam: I put the zest of the orange into the jam also, for more flavor and also chopped up the strawberries into small pieces. I'm not sure why mine didn't thicken like it should have, but after I made it, I read the directions in the pectin package, and they were slightly different than those in the recipe. When I make it again, I will follow the package directions instead and see if there is a difference. Oh, and I also got more than five jars out of the recipe. I can't remember how many exactly, but I suggest having three or four more ready just in case.