I know how much Maralyn enjoys scones.
When in England we searched for the best scones.
I found most of them too dry. Patti’s  scones were so moist and tasty that I couldn’t stop munching them with coffee and for Mother’s Day at tea time.
Her addition of orange zest and cranberries may be her secret. Since I rarely bake, I invited Patti to be one of our guest bloggers. Even I can follow her easy directions.

Patty Cake’s Pantry

Orange Cranberry Scones

by Patti Cake

So far this week, I have posted two recipes for finger sandwiches that would be great for a Mother’s Day tea party.  Today, I am going to share a recipe for scones.  Scones are a traditional tea time treat.   These scones are sweet and delicious, and  I love the combination of orange and cranberry.   They are also very easy to make.  In my recipe, I used dried cranberries.  If you are looking for a recipe made with fresh cranberries, check out this recipe at Sally’s Baking addiction. 

I chose to use dried cranberries because they are available in my area all year long, and I already had them in the pantry.

Here are the steps to make scones.   The first thing you need to do is turn on your oven to preheat to 400 degrees.

The flour mixture is covered eith small pieces of very cold butter. Mix together all of the dry ingredients.  I put them into a bowl and stir them around really well.   Then, you cut your very cold butter into small pieces and arrange it on top of the flour mixture.  I chose to use a knife and cut mine into small pats.  Other people recommend grating frozen butter.

Using a fork, or pastry cutter, mix the butter into the flour mixture.The next step is to use a fork, or a pastry cutter if you have one, to mash the butter into the flour mixture.

The flour mixture is beading into pea shapesYou continue doing this until the pieces of butter in the flour mixture have begun to break apart and are forming small pea sized balls in the mixture.  (I’m sorry that it’s hard to see this clearly in my photo.)

The ingredients are mixed together just until the dough holds together.Next you add all of the wet ingredients and keep mixing with that same fork just until all of the ingredients have begun to incorporate themselves into a rough dough.  Don’t over work the dough.

The dough is rolled into a ball.Remove the dough from the bowl and place it on a lightly floured work surface and form it into a ball.  You can make it into two or three balls if you want smaller scones.  It’s up to you.

The dough is flattened into a disk.Mash the ball into a round disk using your hands.  You may need to put some flour on your fingertips to keep it from sticking.

The disk of scone dough was cut into 8 piecesUse a sharp knife to cut the disk into eight pieces.

oven ready sconesSeparate the pieces and arrange them on a cookie sheet that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.  (Some people skip this step, but Baker’s Man insists that it should be done.)

The scones are golden brown and fresh from the ovenPlace them in the oven and allow them to bake for 15 – 20 minutes at 400 degrees or until they are golden.

Allow them to cool on the cookie sheet for 5 -10 minutes while you mix together the frosting ingredients.  It’s actually more like a glaze than a frosting.

the icing was drizzled onto the sconeAt this point, you can drizzle the frosting over the top of the scones.

Iced SconeIf you prefer, you can pour a spoonful of the frosting over the top and spread it around with a spoon.

I have even been known to pick up the scones and dip them in the frosting   However you choose to do this, the scones will be delicious.

Here’s your printable recipe.  Give it a try and let us know what you think.

Thanks for visiting Patty Cake’s Pantry.   For recipe CLICK HERE

We appreciate Patti Cake giving us permission to republish this delicious recipe.

 

Brenda 2016Brenda C. Hill
International Food Wine & Travel Writers Association

Society of Professional Journalists

California Writers Club
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Brenda Hill is an Events Blogger with Amigos de La Cruz for the Vallarta Tribune. The weekly covers entertainment, art, culture, and news for Riviera Nayarit,
Puerto Vallarta.

If you would like to submit a guest post on food, wine or travel to Where and What in the World, we would be happy to feature your travel experience , drink, special wine tasting, or family or simply delicious recipe. If you go to submission tab, you will see how to submit, as well as have the opportunity of telling us if you would like to would like to be a regular contributor. When uploading a file for submission, you are also able to upload jpgs. Please feel free to put a last paragraph about you and a link to your profile. No html please. You can also include a head shot.

Brenda Hill
Author: Brenda Hill

As a longtime food writer for Where Magazine New York City, Brenda Hill, along with her writing partner, Maralyn Hill (no relation), writes and publishes books about chefs, food and international travel. They co-authored "Our Love Affairs with Food & Travel" and joined French Master Chef Herve Laurent in writing "Cooking Secrets: The Why and How" Brenda has been active in the California Writer's Club, IFWTWA, and the Santa Barbara's Writers Conference. Brenda Hill and her partner Maralyn Hill conduct marketing and writing seminars. Maralyn and I will be heading back to Rancho La Puerta in July to give our presentation on writing and marketing your book, as well as bringing back some freshly picked off the farm nutritious and tasty recipes.