New Year's Cranberry-Orange Scones

For my first post of the new year, it's appropriate that I post a new rendition of an old recipe: Cranberry-Orange Scones. 


The original one on my blog is slightly more light fluffy as opposed to these ones. In the original version I used milk instead of ff half & half (which yields a more dense scone). I also made that dough more wet as opposed to these scones, that's because I wasn't into the big puffy scones back then. I used to think that traditional scones were too dry and crumbly. But I've found that homemade scones are much better than the kind that sit behind the glass at a the corner store. When homemade with love, these scones are moist on the inside, golden on the outside, and have buttery flakey layers all throughout. Now I much prefer the puffy, flakey traditional scone :) 


The cherry almond scones (that I posted some time ago) really were the biggest influence on my conversion to become a true scone-lover. So I fashioned these cranberry orange scones to be very similar to those ones. If you've got a good thing going... keep goin' with it!


Last week, Peter and I were out in Palm Springs visiting his Grandparents house for a belated Christmas with them. It was so fun out there. Grandma Joanie made a delicious Christmas feast and had her house all decked out with garlands and christmas lights- indoors and out! However, when you stepped outside it felt like anything but winter. The sun was shining, the air was warm, and the fruit trees were bountiful! Grandma Joanie gave us a pair of clippers and some bags and sent us into the backyard to lighten the load on the branches of her citrus trees. We came home with enough oranges and grapefruits to last us 'till summer! With all of these fresh oranges, I figured it was a perfect time to bake some cranberry orange scones. 


Recipe (for 4 large scones): 

• 1 3/4 cups AP Flour
• 3 generous Tablespoons Sugar (plus extra for sprinkling on top)
• 3 teaspoons Baking Powder
• 1/4 teaspoon Salt
• 1/3 cup Butter, COLD and diced into small bits
• 1 Egg, cold
• 1-2 Tablespoons Orange Zest, (the zest of about 1-2 oranges, 1 is fine and 2 gives a much stronger citrus flavor; so it's your choice :)
• 1/3 cup COLD Fat-Free Half & Half (or regular half & half, or heavy cream, or whatever you prefer... I like to use fat free half & half)
• 1/2 cup dried Cranberries (or 'Craisins')

Glaze:

• 1/2 cup Powdered Sugar
• 2 Tablespoons Orange Juice

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. In a large bowl, mix together your flour, sugar, baking powder and salt (this is in place of sifting the ingredients): 

Then take your already-diced butter out of the fridge and mix it into your flour mixture until the butter dices break down into smaller pieces and your mixture looks somewhat crumbly. 


After your butter is well combined into the flour mixture and it looks somewhat crumbly, switch your Kitchen Aid attachment to the dough hook and add in the egg and the orange zest until well combined. Finally, add the half & half while the dough is mixing. Continue to mix until all the dough is just moist and then add in the cranberries. Allow to mix until all is combined but not over-worked (you want tender flakey scones not tough ones, so don't over mix that dough here or else the gluten in the flour will get overworked and yield tough scones)

Shape your dough into a circle, slice it into quarters, and arrange them on a parchment paper or silpat covered baking sheet.

 Paint them with an egg wash (one egg + 1 Tbsp milk) or some of your half & half. Sprinkle the tops with granulated or turbinado sugar.

Bake for about 20 minutes or until the top and edges just barely start to turn golden. (while your scones are baking, use this time to make the glaze)

Transfer scones to a cooling rack, and wait a few minutes before drizzling with your orange glaze. If you don't wait for them to cool a little bit, then the heat from the scones will make the glaze melt right off! So try to wait at least a few minutes.... it's okay if you can't wait, it'll still taste good :)

Coffee is always good with scones, but hot cocoa is especially good with these ones because the chocolate complements both orange and cranberry flavors :)

*on a side note, isn't that the cutest mug! My friend Laurie got it for me for Christmas. I love the mug's little 'pot belly'... good for holding lots of coffee or tea or cocoa :)

Cherry-Almond Scones

This recipe came from Mama Hartshorne, aka Peter's mom. For some reason, I think of these as 'Norwegian' scones, not just because she's Norwegian, but also because the almond flavor of these scones remind me of the Norwegian wedding cake that she made for our wedding. This traditional Norwegian wedding cake is made with almond paste and it is so moist and dense and delicious! And these scones remind me of that same yummy Norwegian almond flavor. Hence, I will call these 'Mama Hartshorne's Norwegian Scones'. 


Peter's dad loves to spend mornings at the coffee shop enjoying a good cup of joe and a scone. One of the scones he frequently enjoys are cherry-almond scones. I think this was the inspiration for this recipe; and he is the one that really urged me to try baking these scones that his wife makes :) The nutty, fragrant almond extract compliments the sweet-tart flavor of the cherries in these scones. It is SO good and so easy, now I must urge you to try it for yourself too! 


Recipe (for 4 large scones): 

• 1 3/4 cups Flour
• 3 generous Tablespoons Sugar, plus a little extra for sprinkling on top
• 2 1/2 teaspoons Baking Powder
• 1/4 teaspoon Salt
• 1/3 cup Butter, COLD and cut into about 1 cm-squared cubes
• 1 Egg, cold
• 1 teaspoon Almond Extract
• 5 Tablespoons of cold, Fat Free, Half and Half  **(traditionally, this is heavy cream, but I like to use milk or half & half as healthier substitutes. The half & half results in even more dense and rich scones in comparison to scones made with milk that end up a little lighter. However, you can use whichever you prefer: Heavy Cream, Half & Half, or Milk :)
• 1/2 cup Dried Cherries
• 1 oz. sliced or slivered Almonds for topping

Glaze: 

• 1/2 cup Powdered Sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon Almond Extract
• 1 Tablespoon skim milk

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. In a large bowl, mix together your flour, sugar, baking powder and salt (this is in place of sifting the ingredients): 

Then take your already cubed butter out of the fridge and mix it into your flour mixture until the butter pieces break down into smaller pieces and your mixture looks somewhat crumbly. 

I used my Kitchen-Aid mixer to make my dough, but I also used a fork here to help cut the butter into the flour better.

**(You want to cube your butter ahead of time and put it right back into the fridge otherwise it will warm and soften if you take it out and handle it to cut it right before it goes into your dough. It is important that the cold ingredients are cold when they go into the dough because this helps the scones to puff in the oven and come out big and flakey.)

After your butter is well combined into the crumbly flour mixture, fit your Kitchen Aid mixer with the dough hook and add in the egg, then the almond extract, and finally 1 tablespoon at a time of the half & half while the dough is mixing.

When your dough has come together, fold in the dried cherries:

Shape your dough into a circle, slice it into quarters, and arrange them on a parchment paper or silpat covered baking sheet. Paint them with an egg wash (one egg + 1 Tbsp milk) or some of your half & half (like I did this time); sprinkle with some sugar and some sliced almonds

and bake for 20 minutes or so until the top and edges just barely start to golden.

Then transfer to a cooling rack, and drizzle with your almond glaze:

And enjoy with a smooth, nutty cup of coffee (like a nutty Columbian roast) to compliment these rich cherry-almond scones!

And of course we had to deliver a few to Mama and Papa Hartshorne :)

Cranberry-Orange Scones

I LOVE Saturday mornings. But previous to this weekend, Peter and I have been out of town or unavailable for the last 6 Saturdays in a row! So this weekend was our first Saturday morning at home in a long time. We woke up early and went for a long walk along the seashore. On our way back, we walked along Pacific Coast Highway where we passed a luring smell that pulled us nose-first into a little bakery. It smelled amazing! So amazing in fact, that Peter didn't want to leave and my stomach started grumbling. "That's it," I said, "I'm going home and making scones for us!" When we got home, Peter waited (with a debatable amount of patience, haha) while I quickly researched a bunch of scone recipes.  I borrowed bits and pieces from each to come up with this great Saturday morning scone.

INGREDIENTS: 

Scones:

2 cups Flour, and extra for flouring the work surface

3 Tbsp Sugar, and extra for sprinkling on top

1 Tbsp Baking Powder

1/2 tsp Salt

1 Tbsp Orange Zest

12 Tbsp Butter (or 1 1/2 sticks), in small cubes

2 eggs

1/2 cup Milk

1/2 cup dried Cranberries ('Craisins')

(one additional egg and 1 Tbsp milk whisked together for egg wash)

Glaze: 

1/2 cup Powdered Sugar

2 Tbsp fresh squeezed OJ, from the orange you zested

**Technique Tip: First thing of importance is to keep all your scone ingredients cold; So after I took the picture of all the ingredients, I quickly put the butter, milk, and eggs back into the fridge until I was ready for them. When the oven's heat meets the cold ingredients, they will melt and then leave pockets and flakey layers that are so desirable in baked goods, like scones!

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F, and start makin' your dough! Mix all your dry ingredients together, then stir the orange zest into the dry mixture.

Now for the cold ingredients. Add the cold butter cubes and mix (or use a pastry cutter or two forks). 'They' say to mix the butter until it becomes the size of peas in the dry ingredients.... but I never really see the 'pea size' that 'they' are talking about. So I just mix until it is like a crumbly but very dry apple crisp topping (if that helps you), so that it looks like this: 

Then, whip the cold eggs and milk together, and mix that into your bowl. 

You can't see it in the picture, but in your dough you will see a ton of beautiful bright orange specks of zest throughout your dough. Oh, it is so pretty!

Next, fold the craisins into the dough....

...and turn it out onto a floured work surface.

Gently incorporate the flour into the dough until it just loses its stickiness. But beware not to overwork your dough because the more you handle it, the warmer it will become. Keeping that in mind, quickly shape it into a 1 inch thick circle: 

Now I transfer the whole circle to my silpat-lined baking sheet. Then with a floured cutting edge, divide the circle into 8 scones (kind of like cutting a pizza).

Paint it with the egg wash and sprinkle with granulated sugar. When the scones come out of the oven, the egg wash and sugar leave them with a very appealing glossy appearance and a sweet little crunch.

I like to keep mine in the circle like this because it eliminates the process of transferring each cut scone one by one. But more importantly, I like this technique because I think it keeps the scones a little more moist. However, if you like your scones a little more dry and crumbly (like Peter does) you may want to separate each scone to increase the surface area that will be exposed to the heat while they bake.

Pop your scones into the oven at 400 degrees F for 20 to 25 minutes. 

Let your scones cool just a little bit, about 2 minutes, so that it's still very warm but the glaze won't melt right off when you drizzle it on top. During that two minutes, mix together your glaze. With a fork, mix together the fresh OJ and the powdered sugar. It makes a pretty peach colored glaze (you could even add a little orange zest to the glaze for some extra flavor and color). 

Take your glaze and go to town on your scones:

OH...

...MY...

 ...GOODNESS!

And it gets even better, literally.... like a bottle of wine, these get better in time- so save a few for leftovers. Peter and I both thought that these scones were even better the second day with a light toasting to warm them up.

They also make perfect treats to package up and send to the office with hubby 

...or for a good friend's birthday morning... :)

Happy Birthday Adam!