Served throughout the British Isles, scones originated in Scotland and have become identified as an integral component in the iconic afternoon British tea ceremony; they are also commonly served as a breakfast bread. Similar to our American biscuits, traditional scones are typically somewhat dry and not particularly flavorful, so they are often served with clotted cream or butter and jam to bring flavor to the otherwise bland, chewy quick bread. Over the years adventurous cooks have expanded the catalog of scone recipes to include sweet, tart and savory ingredients like currants, blueberries, or nuts. The recipe below is adapted from a scone recipe at Bon Appetit , but kicked-up-a-notch with the addition of sweet-tart dried cranberries, a whisper of orange, and crunchy pistachios. The sweet, tangy orange glaze provides creaminess with a lemony citrus high note to amplify the orange flavor, so you don’t need to serve these scones with clotted cream or butter and jam. To traditionalist scone devotees, this may seem like blasphemy and with all due respect for tradition, maybe I should rename the recipe to “Cranberry Orange Pistachio Quickbread”. Either way, I think you’ll enjoy these American quickbreads with your morning coffee or tea, or as an afternoon snack. Tlachd!

Yield about 8 scones
Ingredients:

¼ cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon kosher salt
3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for surface
½ cup (1 stick) chilled butter, cut into pieces (Salted or unsalted, your choice. I used salted.)
1 large egg, beaten to blend
1 cup heavy cream (Note: if you choose to brush the scones with cream before baking, increase the cream to 1 ¼ cups, reserving ¼ cup for brushing.)
1/2 cup dried cranberries (Craisins)
1/2 cup pistachios (or your choice of nuts)
1 tablespoon orange zest
1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
Demerara or raw sugar (for sprinkling; optional)

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 375°.

1. Whisk granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and 3 cups flour in a large bowl or food processor to combine.

2. Add butter and toss to coat. Using your fingers or a pastry blender or a food processor on pulse to work the butter into the flour until you have a very coarse mixture with pea-size pieces of butter. If using a food processor, scrape the flour mixture into a large bowl.

3. Make a well in the center; add egg, cream, orange juice, craisins, nuts, and zest and mix with a fork, incorporating dry ingredients a little at a time, until a shaggy dough forms (it’s okay if it looks a little dry; don’t overwork).

4. Lightly knead the dough in the bowl until it just comes together.

5. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and pat into a 1"-thick round. Cut into 8 wedges and transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet.

6. Brush dough lightly with reserved cream and sprinkle with demerara sugar. (optional, if you don’t use the glaze recipe below)

7. Bake scones until golden brown, 25–30 minutes.

Remove scones from the oven and allow them to cool for 10-15 minutes before drizzling or brushing with the glaze. (optional)

For the Orange Glaze:

1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons orange juice
1 teaspoon lemon zest (optional)
1 teaspoon butter

You can make the orange glaze in a double boiler, or for a simpler alternative, you can zap it in the microwave.

For the double-boiler method:
Mix the orange juice with the confectioners sugar in a heatproof bowl over a pot of simmering water until dissolved. Whisk in the butter and lemon zest until the glaze is smooth.

For the micro-wave:
In a micro-wave safe bowl, melt the butter. Whisk in the juice, confectioners sugar and lemon zest. Whisk the glaze to smooth out any lumps; if necessary micro-wave for an additional 30 seconds and whisk again to smooth out the glaze; then drizzle or brush the glaze over the top of the scones. Let it set a few minutes before serving.

Adapted from: https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/bas-best-cream-scones

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