It’s Ancestor Day today in my son’s class and every family was asked to bring in a food based on their heritage. Several weeks ago, my son had to decide which ancestry line to research. My dad made it clear right away that his German side was not a possibility. He thought the fact that he is related to Prince Vlad III the Impaler, might scare the children. My dad swears by the fact that his lineage can be traced to this man, who inspired the fictional Dracula character, but that’s a story for another time. That left my son to research the wacky Irish lineage on my mom’s side, and believe me they are quite wacky! 

In deciding what to make for today’s festivities, I just couldn’t bring myself to make a potato dish or stew or even Irish soda bread so I opted for Irish scones. I’m not typically a scone lover. I’d take a muffin over a scone any day, but these are an exception. For those of you scone lovers, these are on the sweet side. You may want to cut back on the sugar by a 1/4 cup. For me, the sweeter the better!

Dried Cranberry, Walnut, and Lemon Scones (Adapted from Bon Appetit recipe)

• 2 tablespoons plus 1 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, divided
• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon peel
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, diced
• 1 cup dried sweetened cranberries
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
• 1/2 cup (or more) chilled half and half, divided

Position rack in top third of oven; preheat to 375°F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Whisk 2 tablespoons sugar and 1 tablespoon lemon juice in bowl for glaze.

Whisk flour, baking powder, lemon peel, salt, and 1 cup sugar in large bowl. Add chilled butter; using fingertips, rub in until coarse meal forms. Mix in cranberries and walnuts. Add 1/2 cup half and half and1 tablespoon lemon juice. Toss with fork until dough comes together in moist clumps, adding more half and half if dough is dry. Gather dough into ball; divide in half. Press out each half on floured surface to 6-inch-diameter (1-inch-high) round. Cut each round into 6 wedges. Transfer to baking sheet; brush with glaze.

Bake scones until golden and tester comes out clean, about 18 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.