Dehydrating Fruits & Strawberry Scones

Dehydrated doesn't mean dried out. Quite the opposite actually while preserved/dried foods from the grocery store might contain additives like sulfites, you can eliminate that issue completely by dehydrating food at home. Always the kitchen gadget fiend I was thrilled to be gifted with a dehydrator for Christmas. Fruit & produce dried at low settings, loses almost none of its nutritional value. We are fond of fresh & dehydrated mangoes so naturally it was my first fruit of choice to stick into the dehydrator. Great as that was just like anyone with a new toy we have now dehydrated strawberries & kiwis too! Just like a Ronco commercial..."but no, that's not all". We have also made a round of jerky in the fun new machine. While it would be easy to snack on all of our goodies I did manage to make up a batch of scones with the dehydrated strawberries we had recently made.





















Strawberry Scones
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
5 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
2/3 cup half-and-half
1/2 cup chopped dehydrated strawberries
1 tablespoon half-and-half
Colored sugar crystals

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. In a bowl, whisk together flour, 5 tablespoons sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut in butter with a pastry blender or two knives until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in 2/3 cup half-and-half until just moistened. Gently fold in dried strawberries.
On a lightly floured surface, knead dough gently, 5 to 10 times. Pat into a 1-inch-thick round. Cut into 8 wedges; place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, 1/2 inches apart. Brush tops with remaining tablespoon half-and-half; sprinkle with about a tablespoon of colored sugar crystals. Bake until golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack.
Yield: 8 servings
This was based on a Martha Stewart recipe which used fresh currants, yum! I myself am a big fan but was looking for a suitable use for my dehydrated strawberries.