Cranberry Orange and Ginger Scones

Hello! Welcome to Djalali Cooks. Today’s sweet recipe is a great breakfast or teatime snack. We have done Lemon Poppy Seed Scones, and while those are great, I have to say I love to have dried fruit in my scones. The light and fluffy, biscuity texture of the scone is wonderful with the chewy flecks of dried fruit. Dried cranberries and candied, dried ginger dot these orange scented scones for a complex and delicious bite. Let’s get right to it!

Begin by preheating the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a large sheet tray with parchment. We are going to infuse the sugar with orange zest, the oils of the zest will perfume the sugar, giving us a deep orange flavor. Grate the zest of one orange into a large bowl.

Add the sugar to the zest and use your fingers to massage the zest into the sugar until the sugar is orange/yellow in color and has a wet sand texture.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the sea salt, baking powder and flour.

Now, add the flour mixture to the orange sugar and toss to incorporate the orange sugar evenly in the flour.

Now add the cubed, cold butter to the flour. Use a pastry cutter to cut the butter into the flour until the butter is pebbly, coated in flour and the mixture is like coarse sand.

Add the dried cranberries and the candied, dried ginger to the flour/butter mixture. Toss the dried fruit in the flour mixture until all the fruit is evenly mixed into the dry mixture.

Scone Dough

Create a well in the center of the dry mixture and pour in the buttermilk and the cream. Use a fork to mix the wet ingredients into the dry to create a crumbly dough. It’s ok if there are stray, dry floury bits.

Dump the crumbly dough out onto a lightly floured surface and pat into a rectangle 1-inch thick. Now, use a bench scraper to lift half of the rectangle and fold it over.

Pat the dough back out into a 1-inch rectangle and repeat the fold-over. Pat the twice folded dough out into a 1-inch thick, by 7-inch long rectangle.

Use your bench scraper to cut the Cranberry Orange and Ginger Scones out of the dough. You should get 9 square scones.

Place the scones on the parchment-lined sheet tray and brush the tops with cream. Bake the scones for 18-22 minutes, until they are golden and risen.

While the scones are baking, let’s make the orange glaze.

Orange Glaze

The glaze is simply powdered sugar and orange juice, with a pinch of fine sea salt. Whisk these ingredients in large measuring cup or batter bowl. Start with 4 teaspoons of fresh orange juice and add more orange juice as needed to get a pourable, yet thick consistency.

When the scones come out of the oven, let them cool a bit before glazing the tops. We don’t want the glaze to melt and totally run right off the tops. I like to transfer the scones to a wire rack to cool. Then just place the rack on the parchment-lined tray we used to bake the scones to pour on the glaze for a mess-free glazing station.

When the scones are mostly cool to the touch, pour the glaze over the tops, letting the excess drip off. Let the glaze set before transferring the glazed scones to a serving plate.

Cranberry Orange and Ginger Scones

I love love love these scones! Orange cranberry is a classic sweet tart combo and the ginger adds wonderful warming flavor and spice that is so perfect for the Holiday season. The glaze adds an orange-scented sweetness that goes so beautifully with the dried fruit.

Definitely add these scones to your holiday baking list, they are great to have on hand for breakfast or late afternoon snacking with tea or coffee. The dried fruit dots the tender, fluffy interior of these scones like little jewels, making each bite, flavor-wise and texturally, a perfect bite.

That’s it for today! Thank you so much for stopping by. Take care and be well! xo Kelly

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Cranberry Orange and Ginger Scones

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Breakfast, Brunch, Dessert, Snack – American

By Adapted From Yossy Arefi, via NYT Cooking – Serves: Makes 9 Scones

Prep Time: 15 Minutes – Cooking Time: 18-22 Minutes – Total Time: ~35 Minutes

Dried fruit dots the tender, fluffy interior of these scones like little jewels, making each bite, flavor-wise and texturally, a perfect bite.

Ingredients

• 1 Medium Orange
• 1/4 cup Granulated Sugar
• 2 and 1/4 cups All-purpose Flour, plus more for dusting
• 1 tbsp. Baking Powder
• 1/2 tsp. Fine Sea Salt
• 1/2 cup Unsalted Butter, cold and cut into cubes
• 1/2 cup Dried Cranberries, roughly chopped
• 1/2 cup Dried Candied Ginger, roughly chopped
• 1/2 cup Buttermilk, cold
• 1/2 cup Heavy Cream, cold, plus more to brush over the scones
• Orange Glaze
• 1 cup Confectioners’ Sugar
• 4 to 6 tsp. Orange Juice
• Pinch of Fine Sea Salt

Instructions

1

Begin by preheating the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a large sheet tray with parchment. Grate the zest of one orange into a large bowl.

2

Add the sugar to the zest and use your fingers to massage the zest into the sugar until the sugar is orange/yellow in color and has a wet sand texture.

3

In a separate bowl, whisk together the sea salt, baking powder and flour.

4

Now, add the flour mixture to the orange sugar and toss to incorporate the orange sugar evenly in the flour.

5

Now add the cubed, cold butter to the flour. Use a pastry cutter to cut the butter into the flour until the butter is pebbly, coated in flour and the mixture is like coarse sand.

6

Add the dried cranberries and the candied, dried ginger to the flour/butter mixture. Toss the dried fruit in the flour mixture until all the fruit is evenly mixed into the dry mixture.

7

Create a well in the center of the dry mixture and pour in the buttermilk and the cream. Use a fork to mix the wet ingredients into the dry to create a crumbly dough. It's ok if there are stray, dry floury bits.

8

Dump the crumbly dough out onto a lightly floured surface and pat into a rectangle 1-inch thick. Now, use a bench scraper to lift half of the rectangle and fold it over.

9

Pat the dough back out into a 1-inch rectangle and repeat the fold-over. Pat the twice folded dough out into a 1-inch thick, by 7-inch long rectangle.

10

Use your bench scraper to cut the scones out of the dough. You should get 9 square scones.

11

Place the scones on the parchment-lined sheet tray and brush the tops with cream. Bake the scones for 18-22 minutes, until they are golden and risen.

Orange Glaze

12

Whisk the ingredients in large measuring cup or batter bowl. Start with 4 teaspoons of fresh orange juice and add more orange juice as needed to get a pourable, yet thick consistency.

13

When the scones come out of the oven, let them cool a bit before glazing the tops. Transfer the scones to a wire rack to cool. Then just place the rack on the parchment-lined tray we used to bake the scones to pour on the glaze for a mess-free glazing station.

14

When the scones are mostly cool to the touch, pour the glaze over the tops, letting the excess drip off. Let the glaze set before transferring the glazed scones to a serving plate.

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