8.21.2010

Orange-Cranberry Scones


It has been a very busy week for me in the church kitchen. Today was the kick-off to Independent Presbyterian Church's annual Enrichment Services. A very special speaker was invited for this special weekend and we are honored to have Dr. Joel Beeke, president and professor of systematic theology at Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary.

The services began with a full breakfast and followed by two teaching sessions. He will be with us on Sunday speaking in both morning and evening services and during Sunday school hour.

Here was the breakfast menu for 110 person for this morning:
Oven baked bacons and sausages
Buttermilk Biscuits
Fresh Fruit
Orange-Cranberry Scones with clotted cream
Coffee, Tea, and Orange Juice

On top of Wednesday noon service lunch prep a few days ago, we got very busy getting the baked goods ready for the weekend. For blueberry muffins, we pre-measure dry and wet ingredients, label and store until the day of baking. This eliminates any errors and keeps sanity when we are working under time pressure. Especially at five in the morning!

For scones, make the scones, cut, and wrapped in plastic wrap before freezing.

When ready to bake, brush the tops of frozen scones with buttermilk and sprinkle raw or granulated sugar and pop them in heated oven.
Out of the oven emerges fragrant and flavorful scones you will love. Edges are crisp but inside is moist and tender. Serve with clotted cream and your favorite jam.

Orange-Cranberry Scones
Adapted from Bon Appetit
Makes 18 small triangular wedges

3 cups all purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon grated orange peel
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
3/4 cup dried cranberries, coarsely chopped
1 cup chilled buttermilk

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Sift flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda into large bowl. Mix in orange peel.

In a food processor with a blade attachment, process half of flour mixture and half of chilled butter, pulsing until mixture resembles coarse meal. Put the processed mixture in a large bowl. Repeat with remaining butter and flour mixture.

Mix in dried cranberries. Gradually add buttermilk, folding with a rubber spatula until moist clumps form. Turn dough out onto lightly floured work surface. Knead just enough to bind dough, about 4 turns. DO NOT over work the dough.

Divide dough into three dough balls. Flatten each dough ball into a 5-inch disc. Cut into 6 wedges each, yielding 18 total. For larger scones, divide dough ball into half and cut into 8 wedges.

Transfer wedges to prepared baking sheet, spacing 2 inches apart. Brush tops with buttermilk and sprinkle raw or granulated sugar. Bake until edges of scones are light brown, about 20 minutes. Let stand on baking sheet 10 minutes. Serve scones warm or at room temperature.

Note: To freeze, after shaping the discs and cutting into six wedges, wrap each disc with plastic wrap and then in a freezer bag. Proceed with buttermilk and sugar topping and bake. Do not thaw scones but add few more minutes to baking time.

2 comments:

  1. Mmm! I love scones, especially with the tart contrast of the orange peel and the cranberries.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Kay, have you posted your clotted cream recipe anywhere on your site?

    ReplyDelete