Lemon Apricot Scones

I've always read that in baking one needs to be precise with the proportion of liquid to dry ingredients in order to get good results. Well I threw caution to the wind recently and substituted drained yogurt for the sour cream in a scone recipe, and it was a very successful experiment.

I pass the recipe on to you with the caution that not all yogurts are the same. I used a mellita coffee cone filter with a paper lining and drained for 20 minutes. I probably could have used thick Greek yogurt and skipped the draining, but I can't find that organically made. And I won't use non-fat sour cream - too many additives.

The yogurt, lemon and apricots combine to give a tart tanginess that raises the scones above the average.

Make sure to get un-sulfured apricots. They will be brown not orange. The sulfites used to preserve the orange color in the drying process are not food, plus some people are allergic to them. Better to use the natural kind. Apricots are high in iron, and contain good fiber in the form of pectins and cellulose. Snip them into small pieces with scissors.

Raisins are rich in calcium, fiber and antioxidants, making them the perfect sweet snack. I buy organic flame raisins from the Burkart stall at the Hollywood Farmers Market. They dry their own grapes to make the wine-iest most luscious raisins you can imagine. The downside is most of the raisins still have the stems attached, so you need to pick through them. Time consuming, but oh so worth the flavor.

This recipe makes a dozen scones. I froze half of them, and they defrosted really well.

I gilded the lily with a lemon icing. It's optional, but adds an extra sweet tangy kick.

Enjoy these scones at room temperature or slightly warm.

Lemon Apricot Scones
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 cups yogurt
1 egg
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 tsp grated lemon peel (divided use)
1 cup snipped dried apricots
2/3 cup raisins
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2-3 tsp lemon juice

Set the yogurt to drain in a coffee filter. When it's the consistency of sour cream, scoop out 1 cup for the recipe. Discard any extra, or save for another use.

Preheat oven to 375°F. Lightly grease a cookie sheet.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Cut in the butter with a pastry blender or two forks or your fingers until it reaches the consistency of bread crumbs.

Separately, whisk together drained yogurt, egg, sugar and 1 tsp lemon peel. Stir this into crumbs until just moistened. Mix in apricots and raisins.

Drop dough by 1/4 cup scoops onto the cookie sheet. Bake 20-22 minutes until scones are golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool on a rack.

Optional glaze: Combine powdered sugar and 1/2 tsp peel. Stir in enough lemon juice to make a consistency to drizzle over the scones.

Makes 13 scones.