Saturday, February 05, 2022

Orange Cranberry Scones


The Recipe for Orange Cranberry Scones

Ingredients

2 cups (250g) of flour, with extra for the work surface, when rolling out the dough

1/2 cup (100g) of granulated sugar

2.5 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp orange zest, and this is about what you get from one orange

1/2 cup (115g) frozen butter (we had salted)

1/2 cup (120ml) heavy cream

1 large egg

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 full cup (125g) frozen cranberries (Maria used dried cranberries once. She soaked them in water to soften them a bit.)

Orange Glaze

1 cup (120g) powdered sugar

2-3 Tb (30-45ml) orange juice. Maria likes the zing of lemon juice, so she added the juice of 1/2 a lemon to this.

Instructions

Combine the dry ingreiduents and zest and whisk to combine. Grate the frozen butter, then use a pastry cutter to combine the butter with the dry ingredients, or do like Maria and use your hands. You are going for a crumbly consistency. This can rest in the refrigerator while you mix the wet ingredients in a seperate bowl. Now, whisk the heavy cream, the egg, and the vanilla. Bring out the flour/butter mixture, and drizzle the egg and cream over it, and add the frozen cranberries. Combine all of this, pouring it onto a counter, and with some flour on the work surface and your hands, work the dough into a ball... if it's too sticky sprinkle some flour, or if it's too dry 1 or 2 tablespoons of heavy cream. Work this into an 8" inch round, then cut it into 8 wedges, with a knife or scraper. Maria lined a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat (parchment works, too) and set the wedges on the sheet to refrigerate for at least 15 minutes. Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit (204 degrees Celsius.) When the oven is ready and the wedges have chilled, bake them 2-3 inches apart for 20-25 minutes, until the edges are golden. Get them to a cooling rack, and prepare your glaze. Glaze: Whisk the sugar and citrus juice to desired thickness, then drizzle over the scones.

This recipe came from the Culinary Arts class, and Maria baked them for us at about six months into the Stay At Home Season. They were a such a delight... for one, because they taste delicious, and secondly, because it was lovely to have something new, and to enjoy it mindfully, appreciatively. That was in September, 2020, and I have cherished the memory ever since. I have been giddy since bedtime, when I learned that Maria planned to make them again, today. She froze the butter, and double checked that we had fresh cranberries in the freezer (which, obviously, means they're frozen fresh cranberries!) She and I took a flashlight late last night, and trekked to the end of the garden in search of oranges. We thought it was very cold out there, but we laughed at ourselves thinking of the freezing temperatures in the rest of the country! We harldy suffer, but it's all relative, right?
The first time I had these, I wrote, "Maria's scones came out pretty, appealingly pretty. By the time I got to sit down and enjoy my serving, I decided to make it a mindful, special moment. I made coffee, I brought out a pretty plate, I sat at the dining table. I am so glad I was intentional, because her baking was transportive. Each bite made me recall the pleasure of cafes, of going out, of being at a bakery, some place you find at the end of the day, on a tree-lined street. My thoughts wandered. I thought of novels, heroines, linen aprons, garden kitchens, the waning light of a softening summer, the painstaking saving of fruits, nuts, spices, in preparation of holidays, Winter. Maria's baking made me feel hopeful, thankful, sated. That's a lot to derive from a scone, but it was a very pretty scone, and delicious, too, and I am reminded of all the good that comes of slowing down, being mindful. It's a gift to take notice, to enjoy all the layers." I can't think of much more to add to that, except to recommend the tea Bambi prepared to go with our treat. She didn't only brew the tea, it's one she also blended, using Adagio teas. (This is not an ad. We simply enjoy teas and blends from Adagio Teas, and her mix is public, if anyone is interested in ordering it.) "Blended With Rooibos Tea, Honeybush Tea, Orange, Rose Hips, Hibiscus, Lemon Grass, Marigold Flowers, Natural Lemon Flavor, Natural Vanilla Flavor, Apple Pieces, Natural Apricot Flavor, Natural Orange Flavor & Apricots." Bambi's Torben tea paired very nicely with Maria's Orange Cranberry scones.

7 comments:

Little Dorrit does... said...

Wow. This post has put a big smile on my face. You paint such wonderful word-pictures that the very beautiful accompanying photos really are just the icing on the scone! This was definitely a sparkly moment to be revisited over and over again. :-)

Nicole MacPherson said...

Those look delicious!!

Natalie, the Chickenblogger said...

I'd love to see your smile! Thank for sharing your sparkly remarks... and I will be sure to share them with Maria, too.

Natalie, the Chickenblogger said...

Maria had that classic dough mixing moment, when it's kind of a mess and you have all kinds of doubts about what's happening... then, when she took her first bite, she declared that all of her uncertainty about making them again were gone! It's so nice to have a sure-fire, delicious recipe!

Ruth said...

Yummo! Maria is destined to be a great cook like her mother. Cooking can be so centering when it is done just for the sheer joy of it. Also, those are beautiful, delicious-looking scones.

Janece said...

Okay - unpopular opinion confession -- I don't usually like scones. But, Maria's... they look unbelievable! I might have to try her recipe and see if I may find an exception. (And, I adore the flavor combination of cranberry and orange!)

Natalie, the Chickenblogger said...

Oh, I totally get it: Scones are hit or miss, and I've had very few that I think of with any kind of longing. In fact, recently I was imagining Maria's when I ordered one at a very favored local bakery and it was: Blech, sadly. These deserve a try, for sure, especially as you love cranberry and orange. In fact... what are you doing this evening?