Cranberry Orange Scones

 

Scones are just such a wonderful indulgence...perfect with a cup of coffee or tea, or even with a cup of milk.

These Cranberry Orange Scones are such a classic, but have a great zing from the orange rind. An added "plus", they are nice and light...not too dense like store bought scones.


Preheat the oven to 400°F. By the time your oven is ready, your scones should be in the shaping stage.

I grab my Kitchenaid mixer and use the paddle attachment to make this super simple dough. Start with 2 cups of all-purpose flour...
 

Add 1 Tbsp. baking powder...
 

And 1/4 tsp. baking soda...
 

Give it a quick stir (on LOW) just to get things mixed nicely...
 

Then 1 tsp. of sea salt...
 

We need a little sugar, so add 1/3 cup of granulated sugar. Give it another quick little stir to get all of that sugar incorporated.
 

Then take a small grater or zester and a medium sized orange...and start grating that wonderful skin releasing the orange's oils. Be careful not to zest the pith (white) of the orange though...we don't want that in our mix.
 

Give it a quick stir just to get the orange zest distributed through the flour mixture.
 

Time to turn the attention to the butter...COLD butter. Start by slicing 1/4" pieces of butter (or breaking them off)...
 

Then slice again into cubes. This will help it while mixing...cold cubes are better than cold slices.
 

Next, the cold cubes of butter go into the mixing bowl.
 

Mix on the lowest speed setting until pea sized balls begin to form. (about 4-6 minutes)
 

In a small mixing bowl add one egg....
 

Give that egg a little beating...
 

Measure out 3/4 cup of heavy whipping cream and add it to the egg.
 

Mix the egg and cream together.
 

Turn the mixer on the lowest speed setting, then add the egg & cream mixture to the dry ingredient mixture...
 

Make sure to do it on low speed so that the kitchen doesn't get a dusting.
 

Mix just until incorporated. The dough should be slightly sticky.
 

Then we just plop our dough out onto a lightly floured surface.
 

I like cutting my dough in half...then either using it to make half a batch of another type of scone (like The Keys' Key Lime Scones or Scrumptious Citrus Chocolate Chip Scones, which is what I'm doing this time)
 

or wrapping it in saran wrap (and then in a freezer bag) and storing it for later use.
 

 

 

Take dried cranberries and place them in a small mixing bowl...

 

 

Then toss them in a little bit of flour, (1 Tablespoon to start) just enough to coat them. I like to use a strainer to just sift off the excess flour.

 

 

Pour the cranberries onto the ball of dough...

 

 

Quickly work the cranberries into the dough. Then roll out the dough (with a lightly floured rolling pin) or press the dough (with your hands) into 3/4"-1" thick slab.

 

 

 

Use a cookie or biscuit cutter to form the scones. Lightly flour the cutter to make sure it releases the dough easily.

 

 

 

Place the scones onto a baking sheet lines with parchment paper or a silpat. I love my silpat.

 

Next step, take an egg and a tablespoon of water and mix them to make an egg bath.
 

Then take that egg bath and with pastry brush…

 

 

Apply it to the top of each scone.

 

 

The last step before putting them into an oven...sprinkle the top of each scone with sugar (granulated or raw).

 

 

Then into the preheated oven (400°F) for 15-20 minutes. (time varies by size & thickness, these took 16 minutes)

 

 

Remove the scones from the oven once they are golden brown and firm to the touch.

 

 

Move the scones to a cooling rack and allow them to cool for 10-15 minutes.

 

While cooling, take half of the orange that was used for zesting and juice it.

Oh yeah, we're going to make an orange glaze!
 

Be sure to strain out any seeds and pulp...they make the glaze not so pretty.
 

Measure 4 Tablespoons of orange juice and add 2 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar (powdered sugar) to the orange juice.
 

Then I start by using a rubber spatula or spoon to mix the sugar into the juice...followed by a whisking to get all of the little balls of sugar broken up and incorporated.
 

 

And when it's done, there is a wonderful glaze that is ready to drizzle over the scones. Drizzle...just enough to make them look even more inviting and pretty.

 

 

 

 

Be sure to place a cutting board or parchment paper under the cooling rack for this step...or your counter will become extremely sticky welcoming every ant in the neighborhood.

 

 

Then, finally, it's time to grab a cup of coffee and enjoy the scones of your labor!

Nutty Spiced Cranberry & Golden Raisin Oatmeal

I have always been a fan of oatmeal...then I discovered Steel Cut Oatmeal. Oh, that only made me love oatmeal even more! If you have never tried it before, there is a distinct difference...a wonderful kind of nuttiness that comes from the steel cut oats.

View complete posting: Nutty Spiced Cranberry & Golden Raisin Oatmeal

Homemade Cranberry Sauce

This past Thanksgiving was the first time that I have ever made cranberry sauce. Now I don’t understand why I had never endeavored to make it from scratch before. I mean, I grew-up with the beautiful can mould of cranberry sauce in my grandparent’s serving dish every year…and thought nothing of it. It tasted good and it was cranberries for Pete’s sake! But after savoring this sauce, I will be hard-pressed to give-in to the convenience of the can again. Come on…how could you not want to take a big spoonful of this lusciousness?!

There are very few steps needed to make an absolutely delicious cranberry sauce. However, if you are not up to this indulgence, then by all means...think again.

 To start, in a large saucepan bring 1 cup water and 1 cup sugar to a boil over medium-high heat. Stir frequently so that the sugar does not stick to the bottom of the pan and dissolves completely.

Add on bag (16 oz) of fresh cranberries to the boiling sugar & water. Adding the cranberries will cool the temperature of the water, so we need to bring the pot back up to a boil.

In the meantime, get your cutting board out and let's put it to use. Take 1 granny smith apple (you could use a gala apple in it's place) and chop it into bite size pieces. You could do this by peeling your apple, coring it, cutting it into 8 wedges, cutting each of those in half lengthwise and then chopping each of those slices into bite-sized 1/4" pieces.

However, I take full advantage of this tool...my handy dandy apple slicer/corer. Then I just slice off the skins of each wedge. Half each wedge lengthwise. Stack several wedges and cut them into 1/4" thick slices. So there are basically a ton of little apple triangles all over the cutting board. (which I then have to spend time fighting off my triangle stacking girls)

Once things start boiling again, you will begin to hear the sweet melody of popping cranberries. Time to lower the heat so the mixture will just simmer.

Look at how beautiful and robust the color is from these berries! And the smell! Ohhhhhh the smell!Mmmmmmmm!

Alright, back to the cutting board. Take 1 cup of walnuts and chop, chop, chop. They basically need to be the same size as the apple pieces, maybe a little bit smaller.

Time to get the citrus involved.

 Cut 1 orange and 1 lemon in half and juice.

Be sure to remove all seeds! There is no need to make an emergency trip to the dentist after dinner.

It is now time to add the walnuts & apples to the pot.

If you are a fan of raisins, then this would be the time that you add about 1/2 cup of raisins to the pot.

Grab a spoon and stir everyone in the pot.

Add orange & lemon juices.

Take one of the orange halves and zest 1/4-1/2 teaspoon into the sauce. When that zest hits the cranberries...WATCH OUT! Again, the aroma is amazing.

Now it's time to measure out 1/4 cup Grand Marnier. I love this stuff! Anytime I can work it into a dessert of any kind, I will. If you are not a fan of Grand Marnier, or you just don't have any on hand, then juice the other half of the orange (1/4 cup) and add it to the sauce instead.

Give it a stir again so that everyone can mingle.

 

Spices, spices...throw in the spices! Add 1 teaspoon cinnamon and 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg. If you have fresh nutmeg, then by all means, get out the little grater and grate away.
Lest we forget to add 1/8 teaspoon of ground cloves. So little it almost gets lost in there, but so very good. If you are really a fan of cloves, then go ahead and bump it up to 1/4-1/2 teaspoon...you know what you like.

Give it another stir and then continue to simmer on low heat for another 10-15 minutes. This will allow all of your spices to do their work. Try to contain yourself, don't give in to an early spoonful...it is worth the wait.

Remove from stove and allow the saucy deliciousness to cool.

Then pull out your favorite little serving dish and spoon in plenty of cranberry sauce. This is perfect with turkey or any holiday dish!

Homemade Cranberry Sauce

Ingredients:
1 Cup of Water
1 Cup of Granulated Sugar
1 (16 oz.) Bag Fresh, Whole Cranberries
1 Chopped Granny Smith Apple (Gala Apple can be used as well)
1 Cup Chopped Walnuts
1/4 Cup Grand Marnier (optional)
1/2 Lemon, Juiced
1/2 Orange, Juiced
1 Teaspoon Cinnamon
1/2 Teaspoon Nutmeg, Ground (freshly grated if available)
1/8 Teaspoon Cloves, Ground
1/4 - 1/2 Teaspoon Orange Zest (to taste)

Directions:
In a large sauce pan combine the sugar and water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring frequently. Add the cranberries and return to a boil.

Once a boil is reached, lower the heat so that the mixture simmers. When you hear the popping of the cranberries and the liquid becomes a burgundy shade it is time to add the rest of the ingredients.
Add apples, walnuts, Grand Marnier (or 1/4 cup additional fresh juiced orange), lemon & orange juices, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and orange zest. Continue to simmer on low heat for 10-15 minutes.

Remove the pan from the heat and let the sauce cool. Serve in a side bowl with any holiday dish! (Makes Approx. Eight 1/2-cup Servings)