I took inspiration for this recipe right out of one of my favorite cookbooks of all time. Two summers ago we did a little backpacking trip through Wyoming and I picked up this glorious cookbook inspired by the best food Wyoming has to offer. They have some great food up there. Trust me. I had to adapt something from this cookbook someday and I decided to start with the Cranberry-Orange Scones. Surprisingly enough, until today, I have not made them! Weird I know. Well Zach and I (and his mom who will be visiting this weekend/week), are taking a little road trip through Utah to check out some of the National Parks. I know. Don’t start. We should have been there by now. I mean it is only a hop, skip and a jump away. Better late than never though right! I thought that we totally needed a baked good to go with our coffee in the mornings. Scones were the perfect solution to such a serious problem. They travel well, they keep at room temperature, and they are fabulously, insanely, absolutely fantastic bundles of sweetness.
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So the last time we were BRIEFLY in Utah, was a little over a year ago when we were moving Zach’s belongings from Pasadena to Boulder (he lived in Cali…I in NJ if you were so curiously wondering). We blew a tire in the middle of nowhere Arizona, and I mean THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE. We had to be towed (thank God for AAA) from Arizona to Utah (to the closest auto body shop that was still open). If you are wondering why we didn’t just fix the flat on the side of the road…well the car was packed full. There would have been no way the car could have held on an itty bitty tire. So my last recollection of Utah was “wow, what a beautiful state!” and also “wow, I’m so happy I get to experience Utah from a tow truck!” … so yeah I think it’s time to go back for the full Utahian (is that a word?) effect.
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Where were we?
Oh yeah that’s right…
Scones.
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Naturally, we need food for our trip. Zach and I are notorious for packing all kinds of deliciousness for our road trips. To save a bit of cash, we decided to make our breakfast ahead of time in the form of orange and cranberry scones (minus the cranberries for Zach because SURPRISE! he doesn’t like those either). Yes, I had to make two separate batches. I’m convinced he’s never had a cranberry. I’m convinced he just chose to not like them as a child and it’s stuck with him ever since. Picky picky picky I tell ya. I did have to eat just one of course. Just to make sure it tasted good enough to be invited on our road trip. Oh my it was like taking a bite out of sunshine. So citrusy and sweet, I could have eaten the whole batch…even the non-cranberry ones.
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Why yes I did pair this with a beer! I am so happy that you asked! I think subconsciously I got the inspiration for using this recipe because of Moylan’s Orange and Black Congrats Ale. This beer is absolutely fantastic even though it was a once and done brew. Moylan’s brewed this bad boy to celebrate the Giants winning the World Series a few years back and they completely won for creating such a FABULOUS beer. The owner actually told Zach on our visit to the brewery that the staff had peeled a ton of locally-grown oranges to get that true orangey effect. Pretty cool huh? So I know this beer was a once and done, so unless you have a bottle shop who has a couple bottles stowed away for safe keeping you will NOT be finding this beer. As an alternative, Rogue’s Somer Orange Honey Ale is a great substitution if you want that delicious orange flavor.
I hope everyone is ready for the weekend! We certainly are!
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Ingredients
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup very cold butter, cubed
- 1 cup fresh or dried cranberries, chopped
- 1 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated orange zest
- 1 tablespoon fresh squeezed orange juice
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon + 1/2 teaspoon sugar (for sprinkling)
- 2 tablespoons sliced almonds
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 425 degrees and situate the oven rack to the middle. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- Add the cubed butter to the flour mixture and (with clean hands) "squish" the mixture together by crumbling the butter with your hands. You could also use a fork if you don't want to use your hands (although I think this takes longer). Keep mixing until the flour resembles coarse crumbles.
- Mix in the cranberries and orange zest with a whisk. Add the buttermilk and orange juice and stir with a heavy wooden spoon until a dough ball can be formed.
- Divide the dough into 2 equal balls. Roll out each dough ball on a lightly floured surface to 3/4-inch thickness. With a cookie cutter of your preference (I used a flower-shaped cutter because Spring is here!) cut out your shapes. You should be able to get about 6 scones per dough ball (a total of about 12), depending on the shape and size of your cookie cutter.
- Place the shapes on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Sprinkle with cinnamon, sugar and almonds. Bake for about 12 minutes or until slightly browned. Let cool on the baking sheet for 2 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
Hardware: * Baking Sheet * Parchment Paper * Measuring Cups * Measuring Spoons * Mixing Bowl * Whisk * Knife * Heavy Spoon * Cookie Cutter * Zester * Juice Squeezer *
