I spent the entire day in the kitchen, in my pajamas. It was the perfect way to spend a stormy day. I started the morning off making cranberry relish to freeze for Thanksgiving. I ended the day making Tonkatsu pork cutlets, steamed Jasmine rice, and Hawaiian style macaroni salad for dinner. In between, I baked a batch of cranberry orange scones.
The chaos of moving, downsizing and a whole house renovation are largely behind us. I feel like I can breathe again and stay in my pajamas all day if I choose. So, I did. And I ate scones. With lots of coffee. I got out my tripod and food photography gear and played around. The storm kept me on my toes, one minute the kitchen was dark, the next, flooded by blinding light.
Eventually I got enough light to get my shots. I bagged up a few scones for my Mom and Dad and the rest were all mine.
I usually like my scones a little drier than these but the soft, biscuit-like texture was perfect for cranberry and orange.
I had fresh cranberries on hand, so I gave them a couple of pulses in the food processor and added them to the batter. I normally use dried cranberries but I think I like the fresh much better. I loved the tart cranberry flavor with the sweet cream scone. The orange zest sprinkled on top of the glaze was perfect.
Ingredients
- For the batter:
- 2 cups flour
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 TBS baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- 12 TBS cold (finely diced butter)
- ½ cup cold heavy cream
- 2 eggs (lightly beaten)
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 tsp orange zest
- ¾ cup diced fresh cranberries
- For the glaze:
- 1 ½ cups confectioner's sugar
- 3 TBS milk
- ½ tsp vanilla
- ½ tsp orange zest
- For the garnish:
- Fresh orange zest
Instructions
- Add the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and finely diced butter in a medium mixing bowl. Cut the butter into the flour with two forks or a pastry cutter until the chunks are butter are the size of pease. Don't overdo it! You need the chucks of butter to create steam as the scones cook. Refrigerate. In a small bowl add the heavy cream, lightly beaten eggs, vanilla, and orange zest. Refrigerate both bowls for 20-30 minutes. Add the fresh cranberries to a food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped. You can chop them by hand if you don't want to drag out the food processor. Refrigerate. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients by gently folding until just incorporated. Fold in the cranberries. Do not over mix or you will have pink, tough scones. Refrigerate for 15 minutes. Turn the dough out on a floured board and gently roll it out and fold it over itself four times. Roll folded dough into a circle 1" high. Use a biscuit cutter to cut out the scones. Push the cutter straight down and do not twist. When all the scones are cut, gently knead and roll out the scraps and cut more scones. Place the cut scones on a parchment lined baking pan and refrigerate for 30-60 minutes. Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 15-17 minutes or until the tops are lightly golden brown. While the scones are baking, make the glaze by mixing all the ingredients in a small bowl. You can add more or less milk to make the glaze as thick as you like. Remove the pan of scones from the oven. You might notice a bit of melted butter on the parchment but it will absorb back into the scones quickly. Gently slide the parchment with the scones on it onto a wire rack. Drizzle the glaze over the scones while still warm. Sprinkle a little orange zest over the top of the glazed scones. Allow to cool completely, then enjoy.