Cranberry Orange Scones

I have made/taste tested more scones in the last month than I have in probably my whole life. Not too long ago, we were granted our first snow day. That morning, I woke up on a mission. I wanted to make scones. How hard could they be?! Well… I learned shortly after I saw my first batch cooking, they are very hard, or soft, or not fluffy, or burnt, or cakey or flat. I wanted something that would be a little healthier than the cream and sugar I used in the first batch. Low and be hold I came up with this recipe. Hope you enjoy!

Golden brown.. yum!

Orange glaze.

Cranberry Orange Scones

Makes 10 scones

Original Recipe from Skinnytaste.com

Ingredient:

For the Scones:

1tbsp of orange juice

1/2 cup fat free milk

1/4 cup sugar 

1 tbsp orange zest 

 2 tsp vanilla extract 

 1 large egg 

 2 cups flour (1 cup white, 1 cup whole wheat) 

 1 tbsp baking powder 

 1/2 tsp salt 

 3 tbsp chilled butter (must be cold) cut into small pieces (I usually just take it from the freezer, cut and add it in)

3/4 cup dried unsweetened cranberries

For the Glaze:

1 tbsp of orange juice

2 tbsp of powdered sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375°.  Line baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone mat.

Make glaze by combining 2 tbsp powdered sugar and 1 tbsp lemon juice.

Whisk milk, remaining lemon juice, sugar, lemon zest, vanilla, and egg in a medium bowl.

Mix flour, baking powder, salt, in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Stir chilled butter with a stand alone mixer (Mine is a kitchen aid). I used my hands for this step the first time and the scones came out flat and not fluffy. Gently fold in cranberries. Add milk mixture, stirring just until moist. (dough will be sticky) You will need a little extra flour to keep it from sticking to your hands.

Place dough onto a floured surface and knead lightly four times with floured hands. Be sure not to knead too much! That also happened the first time… flat scones are not what you are looking for! Form dough into an 8-inch circle onto baking sheet, about 3/4" thick. Using a knife, cut dough into 10 wedges. Brush lemon glaze over dough. (or you can add after they bake) Bake until golden, about 18-20 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean. If you added the glaze at the end like I did, let it sit to harden.