My Mothers' Scones

Whenever we have the opportunity to get to Seattle to spend time with my mother, she always serves us the most delicious orange and cranberry scones for breakfast. Hers are flaky and tender with a delicate flavor of orange along with the ever so tart dried cranberrys scattered throughout. They are something we always look forward to.

I decided to scour my cookbooks and try and find something similar which I did in a recipe by Ina Gartin in her cookbook, Barefoot Contessa At Home. Her recipe makes a large quantity so I cut it in half and this makes a dozen 3 inch round scones. The dough was fairly easy to work with but you must make sure you use enough flour on your board when rolling out, as it is a rather wet/soft dough. Also, she says to bake 20-25 minutes at 400 degrees but watch them very carefully as my first batch turned out a mahagony brown instead of a golden brown after only 16-17 minutes.

Orange and Cranberry Scones

(As adapted from the recipe in Barefoot Contessa At Home)2 cups all purpose flour, plus more for the board and rolling pin

1/8 cup granulated sugar, plus more for sprinkling the tops of the scones

1 Tbsp baking powder

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp grated orange zest

1 1/2 sticks cold butter, diced

2 eggs lightly beaten

1/2 cup cold heavy cream

1 cup dried cranberries

1 egg beaten with 2 Tbsp water for egg wash

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line a sheet pan with parchment paper or silpat mat.

In a bowl for an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and orange zest until combined. Add the cold butter and mix at lowest speed until the butter is the size of peas. Comine the eggs and cream and mix on low speed into the flour and butter mixture and mix just until blended. Combine the dried cranberries into the mixture until just blended.Turn the dough onto a well floured board and knead it into a ball. Flour your hands and rolling pin and roll the dough out until it's just under 1 inch thick. Flour a 3 inch round cutter and cut out the dough. Place onto prepared baking sheet. Brush the tops of each scone with egg wash then sprinkle with sugar. Bake until golden brown approximately 20 minutes, depending on your oven. These can be glazed with a mixture of confectioners sugar and orange juice or eaten as is.