Cranberry Orange Scones
These Cranberry Orange Scones will change your life. They are delightfully sweet without being overly so and are perfect for breakfast through dessert. This recipe makes a total of about 8 scones. They have a sweet orange sugar glaze that is to be drizzled over the still-warm scones.
Servings: 1 yield(s)
Prep Time: 10 mins
Cook Time: 20 mins
Total Time: 30 mins
Ingredients
  • 2 cup all-purpose flour (Flour creates an elastic gluten framework and provides structure for baked goods.)
  • 7 tsp sugar (Sugar provides sweetness for baked goods, it also helps in making it tender and its brown color when cooked.)
  • 1 tbsp sugar (Sugar provides sweetness for baked goods, it also helps in making it tender and its brown color when cooked.)
  • 1 tbsp grated orange peel (Grated orange peel adds some acidity and flavor to the recipe)
  • 2 tbsp baking powder (Baking powder is made of baking soda and an acid. It is used to help the baked good rise twice)
  • 1/4 tsp baking soda (When combined with a leavening agent, baking soda is used to help the baked good rise)
  • 1/2 tsp salt (The primary function of salt in a recipe is to enhance flavors)
  • 1/3 cup cold butter (Butter and sugar work together to increase the tenderness of a baked good)
  • 1 cup dried cranberries (Dried cranberries add flavor)
  • 1/4 cup orange juice (Orange juice adds both flavor and acidity in the recipe)
  • 1 egg (Eggs act as a binding agent and keep the scones from falling apart)
  • 1 tbsp milk (milk adds flavor and helps in the eventual browning of the scones)
    • Glaze
  • 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar (For the glaze, confectioners' sugar acts to enhance the flavor of the orange juice to create a glaze)
  • 1 tbsp orange juice (The orange juice is the liquid component for the glaze, it works with the confectioners' sugar to create a tasty glaze.)
Instructions
  1. Combine flour, sugar, orange peel, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Cut in butter until the mixture looks like crumbs.
  2. In a small bowl, combine cranberries, orange juice, half-and-half, and egg.
  3. Add flour and stir until dough forms.
  4. On a floured surface, knead the dough 6 to 8 times. Using a rolling pin, knead dough to ¼ or ½-inch thickness.
  5. Cut into rounds using a 2 ½ inch biscuit cutter. Place scones on an ungreased cooking stone. Brush with milk and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon sugar.
  6. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until lightly browned.
    7. Making the Glaze
  7. Combine sugar and orange juice and drizzle over scones
Recipe Notes

CHANGES THAT CAN BE MADE: In our recipe, Cranberry Orange Scones, we plan to make two major changes. First, we plan to switch the egg for orange-flavored Greek yogurt. The ratio of yogurt to egg will be ¼ cup of yogurt which will replace 1 egg. And second, we will swap the 7 teaspoons of sugar for 3.5 teaspoons of honey. Honey is mainly made up of fructose, which makes it a lot sweeter than table sugar. The difference in sweetness is why we will have to use less honey when we make the adjustments. Additionally, honey is 18% water, and sugar contains less than 1% water. This difference means that it’s very likely that our recipe will be more moist than the original scone recipe. The Greek yogurt that we are using to replace the eggs will also add moisture, but not as much as if we used regular yogurt because the whey was drained out of the yogurt, which removes a lot of moisture. In sum, our scones will be moist and flaky while still retaining the original flavors of orange and cranberry.   Albrecht, Julie A. “Functions of Baking Ingredients.” DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln, 1994, digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1412&context=extensionhist.