Orange Cranberry Scones

Please don't judge a book by it's cover. Sometimes scones are just not feeling photogenic, you know? Kind of like people I guess but I swear to you, in person, they are beautiful to behold and simply delicious. (Hopefully I'll be replacing my blah point and shoot food photos with nifty SLR ones very soon).

My friend Angela stopped in for a visit and we had coffee and scones! Well, I enjoyed coffee but had to give the scones a pass as I must avoid wheat, eggs or dairy. True torture for a food lover I tell ya so I'm thankful that I get so much enjoyment from cooking and feeding others. I was excited to try out this new recipe and she said they were, "the perfect scones!" (Thanks, Ang and I always like spending time with you even if you hadn't been favorably inclined to them ~GRIN~). My husband, not so much of a cranberry/orange or scone guy, usually preferring chocolate chip cookies, ate three and really liked them. I pressed them mercilessly for details since I couldn't taste these myself (dang it). The consensus? Moist with a nice crust, tender, very flavorful, not too sweet, cranberries not overwhelming but nicely distributed in each bite, buttery and really good plain but both liked the addition of the orange glaze which I had served on the side just in case.

The recipe makes a great base so you could change out the flavorings and substitute heavy cream for the buttermilk. I'm going to try blueberry with a lemon glaze, maple pecan and apple cinnamon. They freeze and reheat in the microwave well.

ENJOY!

Orange Cranberry Scones with Orange Glaze
(adapted from Epicurious.com)

3 cups All purpose flour
1/2 cup Sugar
2 & 1/2 tsp Baking powder
1 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
2 Tblsp Orange Zest
1 stick Chilled, unsalted Butter cut in 1/2 inch pieces (I freeze it a bit then grate it)
1 cup Dried Cranberries (soaked, drained and chopped)
3/4 cup Buttermilk (Don't have any? Mix about a tablespoon of lemon juice into 1 cup regular milk & allow to curdle).
1/4 cup Orange Juice
1 tsp Almond extract

Glaze:
1 cup Powdered Sugar
Orange Juice mixed until glaze is desired consistency

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment paper or silpat liners. Soak cranberries in boiling water for 10 minutes. Squeeze dry, chop into small pieces and set aside.

Sift the first five ingredients into a large bowl (or you could simply place them in the bowl and stir well with a balloon hand whisk). Add orange zest; stir to distribute evenly. Add cranberries; stir to distribute evenly. Mixing your add ins now gives them a nice coat of flour, helping to keep the goodies suspended throughout. We don't want them hanging out down in the bottom of the dough. More flavor in every bite!

Grate the butter directly into the flour mixture and stir well to distribute evenly (alternatively, add the 1/2 inch pieces of butter and rub with fingertips until mixture resembles coarse meal).

Combine buttermilk, orange juice and almond extract. Gradually add to the flour mixture, tossing with a fork until moist clumps form. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. It will be on the wet side. Knead briefly and gently to bind dough together (don’t overwork the dough as it will make for tough scones). Add scant amounts of flour if your dough sticks to the board.

Divide dough in half and pat into two 1 inch thick rounds (I did this directly on my prepared baking sheet). At this point you could refrigerate the dough covered in plastic or in a ziplock gallon bag for up to a day. Cut each round into 8 wedges and bake at 350 degrees until tops are golden brown (25 to 35 minutes). Allow to cool on baking sheet 10 minutes and serve warm or at room temperature.

You could brush the tops before baking with a buttermilk wash and sprinkle with sugar. Or better yet, make the simple, tasty glaze to drizzle over scones after they have cooled a little or serve on the side.

Have a great day!