Cranberry-Orange Scones

I love to drink tea and watch English murder mysteries, such as Agatha Christie's Miss Marple series starring Joan Hickson. So naturally, I have been looking for a great scone recipe to go along with my tea.

This particular scone recipe mixes the sweetness of orange with the tartness of cranberries. To make them even tastier, cut them apart, slather on some butter and honey and enjoy!


Cranberry-Orange Scones
Recipe by Bon Appétit, Nov 1998
Pictures by Caroline

Recipe
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 (double this amount for a stronger orange flavor)
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
3/4 cup dried cranberries (I used frozen cranberries and blended them into small pieces)
1 cup chilled buttermilk (I substituted1 tablespoon lemon juice, plus enough milk to make 1 cup)

Directions
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. Add butter and rub in with fingertips until mixture resembles coarse meal. Mix in dried cranberries. Gradually add buttermilk, tossing with fork until moist clumps form. Turn dough out onto lightly floured work surface. Knead briefly to bind dough, about 4 turns. Form dough into 1-inch-thick round. Cut into 8 wedges. Transfer wedges to prepared baking sheet, spacing 2 inches apart. Bake until tops of scones are golden brown, about 25 minutes. Let stand on baking sheet 10 minutes. Serve scones warm or at room temperature.

*Note: I followed the directions and formed a dough ball and cut it into 8 wedges, however, this dough is very sticky and hard to work with. In the future, I plan to make individual balls and flatten them on the baking sheet with the palm of my hand. Also, I think I will make 16 medium sized scones, rather than the 8 large scones the directions advise.