Cranberry Orange Scones

Cranberries were never my thing. In the past, my experience with cranberries was limited to the gelatinous form that comes from a can at Thanksgiving, and well, the cranberry juice my grandpa used to drink. Meh. Not my cup of tea.  

Then it all changed when my aunt baked THE cranberry orange pecan cookies. They were delicious! There's just something about cranberry orange that makes my knees buckle. I'll be at the coffee shop ordering my usual beverage and catch a peek at their bakery case. At that point, there's no turning back. That cranberry orange muffin has my name on it. End of story. 

I took it upon myself to bake cranberry orange scones this week. Now, I have never tried this before... so it was a shot in the dark as far as flavor goes. I used my strawberry scone recipe swapping out the strawberries for cranberries. Didn't have an orange on hand, so I improvised with lemon zest and orange juice to it spruce up.

These cranberry orange scones pair nicely with a cup of morning tea. They are also a fun treat to make for the feast of St. Valentine. 

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup whole fresh cranberries, cut berries into fourths
• 1 teaspoon of orange zest (or use lemon zest for substitute)
• 3 tablespoons of sugar (divided)
• 2 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 6 tablespoons butter, in cubes and slightly softened 
• 1/3 cup of cream
• 1/4 cup of orange juice

Topping:

• 1 tablespoon of sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Mix cranberry pieces and orange zest together. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of sugar on to fruit mixture; set aside. It's important to keep berry pieces small, otherwise they tend to fall out of the dough.

Combine remaining sugar with flour, baking powder and salt. Add butter, using pastry cutter. You may want to use your fingers to be sure the butter is evenly mixed into the flour. Stir in fruit; then add cream and orange juice all at once. Use a spatula to gently stir dough until it holds together.

Knead dough into a ball in bowl. Be careful not to overwork the dough and crush berries. Then transfer to a flour surface. Sprinkle top of dough ball with flour.

Press or pat the dough into a circle 1 1/2 inch thick. If berries peek out, tuck them back in. If dough begins to split open, ease it back together for a nice circle form. Cut circle into 6-8 wedges, then transfer wedges to the cookie sheet, leaving at least 1/2 inch of space between them. Bake for 15 minutes.

Take scones out, sprinkle with sugar topping and bake for 5-10 additional minutes or until the tops are beginning to golden and spring back when you push on them. Let the scones rest for 5 minutes before eating.

Make sure to cut those berries into small pieces so they don't poke out of the scones.

Circle of scone wedges ready to place on cookie sheet.

My little helper enjoyed a taste of the dough.

Going to make sure to add the orange zest next time. It'll add more color and texture to the scones.