Cranberry-Orange Scones

I have always had a love affair with "tea".  Sweet tea is a drink I grew up on and still enjoy and I find the concept of an afternoon tea to be absolutely charming.  As a child I went to England and was fascinated by the Brits--well, really, Europeans in general--and when I traveled back as an adult I fell in love.  In addition to a few other places, James and I stayed at a bed and breakfast called The Ounce House in Bury St Edmunds, England.  The B&B was cozy and intimate and the town was so warm and inviting.   I had my fill of tea and "drank in" the entire experience.

Lucky for me, I have friends who share my adoration of afternoon tea and we planned one for this week at my house in conjunction with our Friday devotion.  My contribution, besides a *somewhat* clean home, is Cranberry-Orange Scones.  I thought I'd share the recipe.

Please note:  This recipe is adapted and scaled down from Ina Garten's recipe, located here.

2 cups plus 2 T all-purpose flour

2 T sugar, plus additional for sprinkling

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 tablespoon grated orange zest

6 T cold unsalted butter, diced (I put it in the freezer for 5-10 minutes to get it extra cold)

2 extra-large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup cold heavy cream

1/2 cup dried cranberries

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix 2 cups of flour,  2 T 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 2 T 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 press into a 10" round on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or SILPAT.  Score as shown below. 

Sprinkle with sugar if desired.  Bake 25-30 minutes, or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. 

If you prefer biscuit shaped scones, then please follow the link above to Ina Garten's original recipe.  Her recipe makes twice the yield as my adaptation and she makes the scones in a biscuit shape and adds an orange glaze.  I prefer the rustic shape of baking the scones as a "whole".  (I just imagine that if they're biscuit-shaped, the men in our lives will say "why does this biscuit have fruit in it?" so I prefer to make a real distinction when I make scones, lol!)

I have made these same scones with equally delicious results by replacing the cranberries and orange zest with dried blueberries and lemon zest.  Let your imagination run wild!

And be sure to make some Devonshire Cream to go along with those delicious scones!