Orange Cranberry Scones

Bake yourself and your family a nice treat for the weekend with this week’s recipe!  I love to throw tea parties, and I love to experiment with new recipes, however every party I ever throw always features these scones.  Simply said, they are the best!  Simple to make, and extremely tasty, they always get rave reviews.  Serve with your favorite jam, cream, or lemon curd.

Cranberry Orange Scones

• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 tablespoon grated orange peel
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 3/4 cup dried cranberries
• 1 cup chilled buttermilk
• Optional:  milk & superfine sugar

Preheat oven to 400°F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Sift flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda into large bowl. Mix in orange peel. Add butter and rub in with fingertips until mixture resembles coarse meal. Mix in dried cranberries. Gradually add buttermilk, tossing with fork until moist clumps form. Turn dough out onto lightly floured work surface. Knead briefly to bind dough, about 4 turns. Split dough in half, and form each half into a 1-inch-thick round.  Cut each into 8 wedges.  Cut into 8 wedges. Transfer wedges to prepared baking sheet, spacing 2 inches apart.  Optional – brush tops with milk and sprinkle lightly with sugar (add a nice crunch and makes them look pretty!).  Bake until tops of scones are golden brown, about 25 minutes. Let stand on baking sheet 10 minutes. Serve scones warm or at room temperature.

Bake yourself and your family a nice treat for the weekend with this week’s recipe!  I love to throw tea parties, and I love to experiment with new recipes, however every party I ever throw always features these scones.  Simply said, they are the best!  Simple to make, and extremely tasty, they always get rave reviews.  Serve with your favorite jam, cream, or lemon curd.

Cranberry Orange Scones

• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 tablespoon grated orange peel
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 3/4 cup dried cranberries
• 1 cup chilled buttermilk
• Optional:  milk & superfine sugar

Preheat oven to 400°F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Sift flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda into large bowl. Mix in orange peel. Add butter and rub in with fingertips until mixture resembles coarse meal. Mix in dried cranberries. Gradually add buttermilk, tossing with fork until moist clumps form. Turn dough out onto lightly floured work surface. Knead briefly to bind dough, about 4 turns. Split dough in half, and form each half into a 1-inch-thick round.  Cut each into 8 wedges.  Cut into 8 wedges. Transfer wedges to prepared baking sheet, spacing 2 inches apart.  Optional – brush tops with milk and sprinkle lightly with sugar (add a nice crunch and makes them look pretty!).  Bake until tops of scones are golden brown, about 25 minutes. Let stand on baking sheet 10 minutes. Serve scones warm or at room temperature.