So far this week, I have posted two recipes for finger sandwiches that would be great for a Mother’s Day tea party. Today, I am going to share a recipe for scones. Scones are a traditional tea time treat. These scones are sweet and delicious, and I love the combination of orange and cranberry. They are also very easy to make. In my recipe, I used dried cranberries. If you are looking for a recipe made with fresh cranberries, check out this recipe at Sally’s Baking addiction.
I chose to use dried cranberries because they are available in my area all year long, and I already had them in the pantry. Having something in my pantry is always a plus.
Here are the steps to make scones. The first thing you need to do is turn on your oven and preheat it to 400 degrees.
Mix together all of the dry ingredients. I put them into a bowl and stir them around really well. Then, you cut your very cold butter into small pieces and arrange it on top of the flour mixture. I chose to use a knife and cut mine into small pats. Other people recommend grating frozen butter.
The next step is to use a fork, or a pastry cutter if you have one, to mash the butter into the flour mixture.
You continue doing this until the pieces of butter in the flour mixture have begun to break apart and are forming small pea sized balls in the mixture. (I’m sorry that it’s hard to see this clearly in my photo.)
Next you add all of the wet ingredients and keep mixing with that same fork just until all of the ingredients have begun to incorporate themselves into a rough dough. Don’t over work the dough.
Remove the dough from the bowl and place it on a lightly floured work surface and form it into a ball. You can make it into two or three balls if you want smaller scones. It’s up to you.
Mash the ball into a round disk using your hands. You may need to put some flour on your fingertips to keep it from sticking.
Use a sharp knife to cut the disk into eight pieces.
Separate the pieces and arrange them on a cookie sheet that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. (Some people skip this step, but Baker’s Man insists that it should be done.)
Place them in the oven and allow them to bake for 15 – 20 minutes at 400 degrees or until they are golden.
Allow them to cool on the cookie sheet for 5 -10 minutes while you mix together the frosting ingredients. It’s actually more like a glaze than a frosting.
At this point, you can drizzle the frosting over the top of the scones.
If you prefer, you can pour a spoonful of the frosting over the top and spread it around with a spoon.
I have even been known to pick up the scones and dip them in the frosting However you choose to do this, the scones will be delicious.
Here’s your printable recipe. Give it a try and let us know what you think.
Thanks for visiting Patty Cake’s Pantry.
- FOR THE SCONES
- 2 cups flour
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup very cold butter, cut into small pieces.
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 1 egg
- 1 cup dried Cranberries
- 2 teaspoons orange zest
- FOR THE GLAZE
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon orange juice
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- FOR THE SCONES:
- Combine dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl and mix well.
- Use a fork or pastry cutter, work butter into the dry ingredients until butter chunks being mixed into the flour mixture begins to form small pea sized chunks. It will still be very floury.
- Add cream, egg, dried cranberries, and orange zest.
- Continue mixing with your fork until all ingredients are wet and holding together. Don't overwork the dough.
- Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and gather it into a ball.
- Pat the dough into a circle that is ¾ inch thick.
- Cut into 8 wedges.
- Place wedges onto a cookie sheet and bake for 12 - 15 minutes or until golden brown.
- FOR THE GLAZE
- While the scones are baking, mix together the orange juice and powdered sugar.
- Drizzle the glaze over top of the scones or dip the tops into the glaze.
Patti’s handcrafted scones are the best ever. When tiving in England, I tried many scones, most of them were too dry. These were perfect, even after a few days. May have been the orange and cranberry combo. Patti makes what I was afraid to try, look easy, and I have the ingredients in my pantry or fridge..
Orange scones have always been my favorite. The cranberries add a bit of tart. I like it.
I have always loved them,too. I never realized how easy they were to make.
I just had to stop by again and say how much I love cranberry orange scones. Of course, orange is my favorite. But I wanted to let you know this recipe looks so good that I referred to it in the post I published for raisin breakfast scones.