Thursday, July 7, 2011

Blood Orange and Cranberry Scones

I make scones about twice a month.  I do this because I like scones, and because I have one heck of a lot of recipes for them.  But today I think I've found the Sistine Chapel of scone recipes.  It is based on a recipe that I found on the Williams-Sonoma website which is itself adapted from a recipe given to Chuck Williams by Judy Rodgers, Executive Chef and Co-Owner of Zuni Cafe in San Francisco.  The original recipe calls for currants.  I didn't have enough, so replaced them with dried cranberries with excellent results.  It also calls for the zest of an orange.  All I had was a bag of blood oranges so figured the blood orange zest would do the trick and add a nice complementary color to the cranberries, so I used it.  What I did not know is that blood orange zest far exceeds the zest of a regular orange by leaps and bounds.  Talk about intense flavor!  I'll never zest a plain orange again.  I also like a glaze, so I made one from about 3/4 cup of confectioners' sugar and 2 T. of regular orange juice from a carton of "Not from Concentrate" that I had in the fridge.  They were amazing!


Blood Orange and Cranberry Scones

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 T. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
8 Tbs. (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1 egg
1/2 cup heavy cream
Zest of 1 blood orange
Glaze (optional)

Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a scone pan, or line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a food processor, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt and pulse to combine. Add the butter and pulse until pea-size crumbs form. Transfer to a large bowl and stir in the currants. 

In a small bowl, whisk together the egg, cream and orange zest until blended and add to the flour mixture. Using a fork, stir to form large, moist clumps of dough. 

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and press together with your hands until the dough comes together. Roll out the dough, flouring as needed, into a 10-inch round about 3/4 inch thick. Cut into 8 equal-size wedges. Press each wedge into a well of the prepared scone pan, or place the wedges 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheet.

Bake until the scones are golden, about 25 minutes. Invert the scone pan onto a wire rack and lift off the pan, or transfer the scones from the baking sheet to the rack. Let the scones cool for 10 minutes before serving. Makes 8 scones.
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5 comments:

The Fajdich Times said...

Your scones look wonderful! I am going to try your recipe:)

Mary said...

These look & sound wonderful~ I wish I had one for my coffee this morning! I rarely am able to find blood oranges, they're oranges on steroids :-)

Vanessa Coppa said...

I love scones. I just made some Rosemary-Thyme scones for my parents yesterday. This recipe looks superb!

Tablescapes By Diane said...

Hi lovely lady.
Your scones look so yummmm. I need to do this recipe, for this coming weekend. Thanks so much for your lovely comments. I hope you have a Great Weekend !!!!
XXOO Diane

Becky said...

Pattie, you scones look amazing! I too love scones and will be trying this recipe as soon as I can get some blood oranges.

Becky