During The Quest for Brunch Excellence, I deemed developing a great scone recipe something of utmost importance. I went through 3 or 4 techniques, and after trying to serve fresh scones for my guests, it became clear that a key feature of any scone recipe is simply how quickly they come together. This research paid dividends last week – I was going to make scones for a colleague’s birthday, but I had an afternoon commitment that meant I couldn’t get started until 9 or 10pm the night before. Thankfully, with the aid of a food processor, these only take 10 minutes of prep, and another 15 minutes in the oven.
In addition to how quick they are, another great thing about this recipe is that it’s simply so versatile. I’ve tried a variety of add-ins, mostly with different types of dried fruit. This time around, I was making 4 different batches to feed a crowd, so I also gave chocolate a try.
I’m working on two things for the next round – savory flavors (onions, chives, garlic, cheese) as well as a variation with tea. You know I’ll report back with my findings!! 🙂
Cranberry-Orange Scones
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Ingredients
- 8 tablespoons salted butter (1 stick, frozen, grated)
- 2 cups ultragrain flour
- 1/3 cups granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
- 1/2 cups sour cream
- 1 egg (large)
- 1/2 cups dried cranberries
- 2 teaspoons orange rind (about 2 oranges)
Directions
| Using a food processor, grate butter. Add dry ingredients to bowl, and pulse to mix. Add sour cream and egg, and blend until moistened. Add cranberries and rind, and pulse until mixed in. (I like to use the blade to chop up the mix-ins while incorporating them.) Turn dough out onto a counter or cutting board. Form into a disc about 8" in diameter and 3/4" thick. Cut into 8 triangular slices. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silapt about 1" apart, and bake at 400 for 15-18 minutes or until edges are slightly golden. Allow to cool slightly, and serve immediately. Adapted from AllRecipes.com | |
| Variations: Blueberry Lemon-Lime: 1/2 cup dried blueberries, 1 tsp lemon rind, 1 tsp lime rind Cherry-Almond: 1/2 cup dried cherries, 2 tsp almond extract, 1/4 cup sliced almonds Chocolate: 1.5oz dark chocolate and 1.5oz milk chocolate finely chopped, 1 tsp vanilla extract | |
| Recipe and photos from Mayhem in the Kitchen! https://mayheminthekitchen.com/quick-cranberry-orange-scones/ |
What lovely pictures! I honestly cannot wait to try these. I love scones, but I don’t think I’ve ever tried cranberry-orange scones. Pinned!
The Cranberry-Orange combo became a staple in our household after I discovered it – can’t wait to hear what you think!!
Okay so I tried them, adapted them a bit, made them about three times in two weeks, and blogged about it here: http://naturalchow.com/2014/03/whole-wheat-cranberry-orange-scones/
Thanks for the great recipe. I’ll have to consider these for my tea party. My guests are always surprised to find out I am serving healthier recipes. I try to stay away from refined sugar when baking so I will use sucanat as the sugar.
Please let me know if you do try them and how your variation turns out!