Quickie

This is going to be a rather short post. The reason? I don't really have any pictures to post, but this recipe is so amazing it would be a crime not to post it!

I'm hosting a Holiday Open House with my family this Christmas. The food we will be serving is just going to  be a wide selection of desserts - kind of like a tasting of desserts. Nice little bite-size treats, so you don't feel too guilty indulging! Since I'm having to bake a lot of different items, I wasn't planning on posting any of the recipes because it would take far too much time. But after trying these scones, I need to share this recipe!

The scones I made are Orange Cranberry scones. Not dried cranberry, but frozen cranberry! Deliciously tart cranberries! And with the orange, and sugar on top, I thought they were divine! Here's the recipe: 

Orange Cranberry Scones

Taken from Two Peas and Their Pod blog

Makes 10-12 scones, or 40+ mini scones

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 tbsp baking powder
1/3 cup granulated sugar
Zest of 1 orange
Juice of half an orange (strained)
1/2 cup cold butter, cut into small pieces
3/4 cup half and half (I actually used just a bit under, since I added the orange juice)
2 large eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup frozen (or fresh) cranberries

Topping:

Half and half
Sugar (I used granulated)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Whisk the flour and baking powder in a large bowl. In a small bowl rub the sugar and zest of the orange together with your fingers. Whisk into flour mixture.
3. Add cold butter pieces into the flour mixture, and cut it in with a pastry cutter until butter is pea-sized
4. In a measuring cup, whisk the eggs, half and half, vanilla and orange juice together. Pour over the dry ingredients and mix with a spatula till moist. Gently stir in cranberries. Transfer dough to a floured countertop and knead until dough comes together.
5. Shape dough into ball and roll it out to desired thickness using a rolling pin. Cut into what ever shape is preferred and place on baking sheet. Brush the tops of the scones with half and half and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 15-17 minutes for larger scones or 10-11 minutes for mini scones. Remove from over and cool on wire rack.

The reason I don't have many pictures from this baking experience is because I wasn't expecting to write about it! I wasn't expecting to enjoy the contrast between tart and sweet so much! But here I am, showing you the final product!

I think if I were to open a bakery, these would definitely be a staple! I highly suggest you try making these - they are really simple and the results are fantastic (in my opinion). You definitely need the sugar on top, so don't skip that step. Otherwise the scone might be too tart.