Cranberry Orange Scones

If you really know me, you’ll know that one of my favorite things in the whole world to eat is..well, just about anything with cranberries. Cranberry juice, cranberry bread, cranberries in cereal, dried cranberries by the handful, cranberries in yogurt, mixed with cottage cheese, soaked in milk overnight and eaten for breakfast, added to pancakes, waffles.. Yeah.. you get the idea. I’m an addict ;)

Here is a recipe for Cranberry Orange Scones. This is one of those easy and simple recipes that came out of some book, and has been copied onto a recipe index card years ago. I made these tonight – it took all of 15 minutes to put these together, and now I’ve got breakfast for the next couple of days. I ended up with only 7 wrapped up for the week.. and you’ll find out what I did with the remaining one below ;)

Enjoy!

Cranberry Orange Scones

3 Cups flour
1/3 cup of sugar
2 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cups butter, cut up into small pieces
1 1/2 tablespoon of grated orange peel
3/4-1 cup dried cranberries
1 cup buttermilk

Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking powder. Some recipes say to sift this, and yes, do that if you have a sifter or a fine mesh strainer. Otherwise, mix in the butter. I use a fork (or my fingers) to mix in the butter, until it is very crumbly.

Mix in the orange peel, cranberries and then add buttermilk, mixing only until it is wet. Batter will be clumpy.

On a floured surface, knead the dough. Don’t over do this — 3-4 turns is all that should be necessary. You can now either roll out the dough, and cut into rounds, or (the easy way), make the entire dough into a 1 inch round and cut it into 8 wedges.

Place on a baking sheet that is lightly greased (or is lined with parchment). Give a couple of inches between the scones.

Bake in a preheated 400 degree F oven for about 23-25 minutes, or until golden brown. Allow to cool slightly before you remove these from the baking sheet, or you will be forced to eat the crumbled up scones immediately, with a bit of cream poured over top ;)

Allow to cool, and then store for up to 5 days.

Scone Variations

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup Pecans, chopped

1/4 cup dried currants
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 cup dried apricots, diced
2 tablespoons sliced almonds

1/2 cup dried cherries
1/2 teaspoon almond extract

3/4 cup dried cranberries
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
1/2 cup Walnuts, chopped

1/2 cup dried cranberries
1 tablespoon orange peel, zested
1/2 cup pecans, chopped

1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped