Orange Cranberry Scones

We are now entering what I like to call hell week. The last week of school before Christmas. Every child I know is currently insane. Every parent I know is pushed to their limit. Teachers can’t wait for school to get out. I’m wondering how much stuff can arrive from Amazon in the next few days before UPS alerts the authorities that I may be a hoarder. Somehow we have four non-urgent appointments with medical professionals this week. I’m wondering how long I can hold off an actual grocery shopping trip. I want to lock myself at home in my favorite yoga pants and listen to Christmas music and bake. But, see, I have no groceries, so it’s gotta be something I can make with things I already have at home.

If any of you are in the same boat, I give you the gift of these Orange Cranberry Scones.

By the way, if you’re looking at those and thinking, “That’s not a scone!”, I’ve been there. You can read about it here. You can also find a recipe for Utah scones here.

You’ll need some all-purpose flour, cold butter, an egg, full-fat sour cream, baking soda, baking, powder, salt, dried cranberries (like Craisins), the zest of 1 orange, full-fat sour cream, and an egg.

Preheat oven to 400. Place baking rack in the middle-low position. Line a baking sheet with parchment or a Silpat and set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, sugar,

baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

Add the orange zest

and cranberries and whisk together again. Grate the frozen butter (a food processor makes that job super easy, but you can also just do it on a regular box grater). Toss the grated butter into the flour mixture and combine it with your fingers until it resembles coarse meal. Set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk together the sour cream and egg. Drizzle it over the flour mixture and then toss the mixture together with a fork until everything appears moistened. Gently press the dough into a ball–it will take some time and some parts of the dough will be more moist than other parts, but continue pressing together until it forms a ball. Be careful not to overwork the dough or it will become tough.

Lightly flour a surface (you can use the lined baking sheet if you want) and place the dough on top of the floured surface. Press into an 8″ disc

and cut into equal wedges with a butter knife. Separate the wedges and place them evenly on the baking sheet.

Lightly sprinkle the tops with reserved sugar.

Bake in the preheated oven for 15-17 minutes or until lightly golden.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool.