Cranberry Orange Scones

I don't need an excuse to use my new Kitchenaid mixer - nor do I need an excuse to bake on a snow day! Last week I actually made 3 desserts in one day - whoops! This particular recipe was adapted from FoodNetwork.com and made by Ina Garten. I love making Ina's recipes because she has such a wide range of dishes to experiment with. This scone recipe was not one of the easiest ones to make but I was up for a challenge since I had never baked scones before. 

Ingredients:
4 cups plus 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar, plus additional for sprinkling
2 tbsp baking powder
2 tsp kosher salt
1 tbsp grated orange zest
3/4 lb cold unsalted butter, diced
4 extra-large eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup cold heavy cream
1 cup dried cranberries
1 egg beaten with 2 tbsp water or milk, for egg wash
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar, plus 2 tbsp
4 tsp freshly squeezed orange juice

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. (For some reason, my oven started burning the bottoms of these scones after 10 minutes so I lowered the temperature to 350 F.)

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix 4 cups of flour, 1/4 cup 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! (It was definitely very thick!) Combine the dried cranberries and 1/4 cup 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 and a rolling pin and roll the dough 3/4-inch thick. You should see small bits of butter in the dough. Keep moving the dough on the floured board so it doesn't stick. Flour a 3-inch round plain or fluted cutter and cut circles of dough. Place the scones on a baking pan lined with parchment paper. Collect the scraps neatly, roll them out, and cut more circles.

Brush the tops of the scones with egg wash, sprinkle with sugar, and bake for 20-25 minutes, until the tops are browned and the insides are fully baked. The scones will be firm to the touch. Allow the scones to cool for 15 minutes and then whisk together the confectioners' sugar and orange juice, and drizzle over the scones. Makes 14-16 scones. I actually got double the amount of scones so maybe mine were smaller?

I think these scones were a tad bit dry but the glaze definitely helped that cause! Most people eat scones with coffee or tea in the morning so I think it is okay for it to be a little dry... they are actually known to be more dry in the United States. Next time I make these (which I definitely would), I will be sure to double or triple the recipe for the glaze. I think they need to be covered, not drizzled, with the glaze! Look at how awesome they looked even before going into the oven! You can see all the yummy specs of butter, dried cranberries and orange zest! Tutti Mangia!