Cranberry Orange Scones

Scones were one of those things that I would see in bakeries and immediately skip because I always thought of them as rock hard, dry dough balls. When I got the job as Head Baker at Cambridge Cafe in Portland, Maine I sort of rolled my eyes when their signature product was their scones. Luckily I had a taste test before I started work. The scones at Cambridge Cafe were creamy, chewy, and incredibly moist. They were packed with flavors like blueberry-lemon, creamy coconut, and cinnamon swirl. Not only were they our biggest sellers, they became one of my products to experiment with in the kitchen. These scones are inspired by the flavors of Fall’; cinnamon, nutmeg, and orange zest pair perfectly together. They are a great breakfast on holiday mornings or even a dinner bread if you want to make them a little smaller. You can serve them traditionally with butter and jam or mix things up and make a quick orange glaze for a sweeter pastry. 

Makes: 8 scones
Prep Time: 20 minutes     Baking Time: 20 minutes     Total Time: 45 minutes

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all purpose flour
3 tbs granulated sugar
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon
5 tbs butter, thawed and cubed into pea-sized pieces
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup dried cranberries, rehydrated with boiling water and strained
1 orange, zest and juice
3 tbs milk, for brushing over top

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
• In a large mixing bowl, combine the flours, sugar, baking powder, salt, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Set aside.
• In a separate small bowl, whisk together the egg, vanilla, buttermilk, orange zest and juice.
• Add the cubed butter to the dry ingredients and mix with a mixer until the mixture starts to look like wet sand. When it does, add the liquid ingredients and cranberries. Mix until the dough starts to form into a ball. Knead the dough with your hands in the bowl to make a solid ball and remove onto a flour-coated surface.
• Kneading as little as possible, form the dough into a ball with smooth edges (pictured below, Step 1).
• Flatten the ball into a 1 inch thick disk, that should measure to about 8 or 9 inches in diameter (pictured below, Step 2).
• Use a knife to trace the dough into 8 wedges. Cut the dough in half vertically, horizontally, and then cut each quarter in half through the center (pictured below, Step 3).
• Gently put the scones onto a piece of parchment on a cookie sheet.
• Brush the top of each scone with milk and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the scones are firm on the sides and cooked through.
• Remove from the oven and cool for about 5 minutes before eating.
• Serve with butter and jam.