Lemon Cranberry Scones for a Gluten-Free Tea Party

Tags

afternoon, cheese dip, cheese sauce, food, g-f, gluten-free, scones, spring, tea, tea party, vernal equinox

In celebration of the arrival of Spring, I had a lovely tea party with a friend.  We actually had tea a few days before the Vernal Equinox because it occurred on a Tuesday this year, and that’s not convenient for afternoon tea.  Naturally this meant it was time for gluten-free snacks!  I served lemon-cranberry scones and crackers with a cheese dip, and for the tea I made a pot of Twining Prince of Wales + Bigelow Darjeeling.

The scones were a variation on the Gluten-Free Scones listed on King Arthur Flour’s website. In place of the dried fruit I used frozen cranberries, and I used a bit of lemon juice in place of some of the milk. I think I may have also used a bit of lemon extract to further enhance the lemony flavor. While they were absolutely scrumptious and perfectly scone-like, I’m starting to suspect my stomach does not much care for xanthan gum, at least not much at a time (between the two of us, all of the scones were completely snarfed before the day was over). I intend to do some experimentation in the direction of removing xanthan from the recipe.

The crackers were Crunchmaster’s Multi-Seed Crackers in Rosemary & Olive Oil.  These have a delightful crunch and good flavor, but I also found them to be a bit bitter, which is what prompted me to make a cheese sauce.  When eaten with cheese sauce they are rather delicious.

I can’t give you even a rough recipe for my cheese sauce, as I improvised it last-minute (my friend informed me she had slept late, so I opted to make a little extra food so as to make up for her missing breakfast), but it involved butter, oil, white vinegar, King Arthur multi-purpose g-f flour, sharp cheddar, and mozzarella. I think the ratios were comparable to gluten-containing cheese sauces, with the exception of the cheese, which I believe I used quite a bit more of than is recommended in most of the recipes I came across.

If you noticed that the photos are a little different from my usual, it’s because the day was quite rainy. This made the tea party feel extra cozy, but definitely did nothing for my photography. Look at the rain coming down!