ABC - Cranberry Orange Scones

Cranberry Orange Scone with Orange Glaze

This month's ABC project is: scones! As you know, we're baking from The Weekend Baker. The author, Abby Dodge, gave us several flavor options: plain, chocolate chips, dried fruit, etc. I love dried cranberries and when paired with orange zest, any baked good turns into a delicacy, in my opinion. These Cranberry Orange Scones sure fell into that category. They were a big hit!

If you would like to join the ABC baking club, please email me at HanaasKitchen [at] live [dot] com. You can find more info about our baking club on the ABC blog.

One of the things I like about The Weekend Baker is that the recipe is broken into several steps that can be done across multiple days. This scone recipe was no different. Having said that, this recipe came together so easily and quickly, that I didn't need to break it up into mini tasks. It took me about 1 hour from start to finish. I served them still slightly warm from the oven with a cup of hot Moroccan mint tea. The mint is from our garden, btw. I love spring :o)

The only ingredient I didn't have on hand was buttermilk. So I used 1/2 full-fat sour cream and 1/4 cup of 1% milk. I whisked them together really well. I had a quick taste, and it tasted just like buttermilk.

Inside scone view. Bon appetit! :o)

Final thoughts/tips:

• Hubby and I loved these, especially when still slightly warm from the oven, with a cup of hot mint tea. Hubby gave these an 8.5 out of 10 rating.
• I just loved the texture of these scones. They were wonderfully crunchy on the outside and buttery and tender on the inside. The orange flavor came through really well and the chewy texture of the craisins was very nice. I also like how pretty they look and how they rose quite tall in the oven!
• Although the recipe says to bake these for 18 minutes at 400F, I ended up adding 2 minutes to the baking time because they weren't quite golden brown enough. On second thought, maybe I shouldn't have added those 2 minutes. Hubby said they were just a touch on the dry side. I thought they were moist enough but next time, I'll bake them for 18 minutes and see if that touch of dryness goes away.
• I used the zest of one navel orange for the scones. The zested orange didn't go to waste. I juiced it and added powdered sugar to it and made the orange glaze to drizzle on top for a decorative touch :o)
• We ate two. The rest I bagged and froze. 
• If you'd like to try this recipe for yourself, do yourself a favor and get a copy of the book. Otherwise, you can find the recipe on Abby's website.
• Check out what the other ABC bakers thought of this recipe.