Cranberry Orange Scones

Happy Almost Thanksgiving Sprinklers!!!  In order to get warmed up for the largest day of cooking of the year I decided to make a Thanksgiving morning breakfast snack this evening in preparation for the festivities.  In my house it is common to eat an extremely small breakfast, essentially nothing throughout the day, and then stuff yourself when dinner rolls around at about 4 in the afternoon.  For the really small breakfast I made what turned out to be (unintentionally) really small scones.  My mom suggested using the unnecessarily large bag of Craisins she had purchased (I guess that’s what happens at Costco).  So with the object of using Craisins and making a breakfast treat I set out to find a good recipe.  I settled on one I found on the foodnetwork.com. 

Cranberry Orange Scones

Ingredients

• 4 cups plus 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup sugar, plus additional for sprinkling
• 2 tablespoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon grated orange zest
• 3/4 pound cold unsalted butter, diced
• 4 extra-large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 cup cold heavy cream
• 1 cup dried cranberries
• 1 egg beaten with 2 tablespoons water or milk, for egg wash
• 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar, plus 2 tablespoons
• 4 teaspoons freshly squeezed orange juice

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix 4 cups of flour, 1/4 cup sugar, the baking powder, salt and orange zest. Add the cold butter and mix at the lowest speed until the butter is the size of peas. Combine the eggs and heavy cream and, with the mixer on low speed, slowly pour into the flour and butter mixture. Mix until just blended. The dough will look lumpy! Combine the dried cranberries and 1/4 cup of flour, add to the dough, and mix on low speed until blended.

Dump the dough onto a well-floured surface and knead it into a ball. Flour your hands and a rolling pin and roll the dough 3/4-inch thick. You should see small bits of butter in the dough. Keep moving the dough on the floured board so it doesn't stick. Flour a 3-inch round plain or fluted cutter and cut circles of dough. Place the scones on a baking pan lined with parchment paper. Collect the scraps neatly, roll them out, and cut more circles.

Brush the tops of the scones with egg wash, sprinkle with sugar, and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the tops are browned and the insides are fully baked. The scones will be firm to the touch. Allow the scones to cool for 15 minutes and then whisk together the confectioners' sugar and orange juice, and drizzle over the scones.

I found that the scones did not rise at all and therefore I needed to start with a thicker piece of dough to cut the circle from.  The flavor was great but the texture was a bit dry.  Nothing that a great cup of coffee can’t fix!!  I’ll be back many times this week to report on the outrageous on goings of Thanksgiving!!  Since Ariel went to the most magical place on earth for the weekend I will be doing all the Thanksgiving updates from my family’s kitchen in Pittsburgh!!