Recipe: Chocolate cranberry scones

I love baking for my family. These scones make a yummy addition to brunch.

1/2 cup to 2/3 cup half and half or milk

In one bowl, mix together the dry ingredients. Chop up the butter into cubes and, with your hands, work the butter into the dry ingredients. The flour mixture should look crumbly when you're done. And it's just fine if you have some hunks of butter left in the bowl. Mix in the chocolate chips and cranberries into the dry ingredients.

In another bowl, whisk together the eggs, vanilla and 1/2 cup of the milk. Then pour the liquids into the dry ingredients and stir until it's combined. If it seems too dry, add a little bit more milk until it's all mixed together.

Sprinkle some flour on a baking sheet. Shape the dough into a six-inch wide and 3/4 inch thick round. Cut out about a dozen circles from the dough for individual scones. Put the pan with the scones in the freezer for about 30 minutes so they rise a little higher and come out a bit flakier.

Preheat the oven to 425. After 30 minutes in the freezer, bake the scones for about 20 minutes. They are best warm. If they didn't come straight out of the oven, we toast day-old - or older - scones in the toaster and add some butter and jam.