I still haven’t figured out whether it’s scone (rhymes with phone) or scone (rhymes with dawn). (Heck! As far as elocution goes, I’m still trying to learn how to pronounce Kamala. But I digress…)
So, I found this delightful clip from a popular British/Irish TV show called This Morning. In the clip, the hosts of the show are at Highclere Castle–you know THE Highclere of Downton Abbey fame–where they are discussing the scone pronunciation conundrum with a Highclere chef and some of the staff. If you are a foodie, this is an engaging conversation about food and food history. If you are a Downton Abbey fan, there is a cameo appearance by Mr. Carson, the high-principled and long-suffering butler. Watch it! In no time, you’ll find yourself in your kitchen sifting flour, humming the Downton Abbey theme song (here), and shaping scones. Who knows? You may even start re-binging on those old Downton Abbey episodes while you binge on your freshly-baked scones. Sounds like a perfect spend-the-whole-day-in-your-pajamas kind of day to me.
Here is the TV clip: Scones or Scones at Highclere.
Here are two great scone recipes to try–one sweet and one savory.
Thinking you want a sweet scone? Today’s recipe is for the Glazed Cranberry Orange Scones pictured above. (The recipe appears at the bottom of this post.)
Craving savory scones instead? The recipe for the Cheddar Scones pictured below can be found in the Blue Cayenne archives here.
You could, of course, go scone wild and make them both. Pandemic rules. Who needs to know?
Glazed Cranberry Orange Scones
Ingredients
- Scones
- 2 C. all-purpose flour
- 1/2 C. granulated sugar
- 2 1/2 t. baking powder
- 1/2 t. salt
- 2 t. orange zest
- 1/2 C. unsalted butter (frozen and grated)
- 1/2 C. heavy cream
- 1 large egg
- 1 t. pure vanilla extract
- 1 heaping C. frozen cranberries (do not defrost!)
- Optional Toppings 1 T. heavy cream and a sprinkling of coarse sugar
- Orange Glaze
- 1 C. confectioners' sugar
- 2-3 T. orange juice
Directions
- Step 1 Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and orange zest in a bowl. Whisk to combine. Set aside.
- Step 2 Grate frozen butter on a box grater. Add the grated butter to the dry flour mixture and combine with your fingers (or two forks or a pastry cutter) until the butter is evenly distributed and the butter pieces are the size of peas. Refrigerate.
- Step 3 Whisk 1/2 C. heavy cream, the egg, and the vanilla extract together. Drizzle this wet mixture over the flour mixture. Add frozen cranberries. Mix this mixture together until everything is moistened. This mixture will be very crumbly at this point.
- Step 4 Dump the mixture onto a counter and (with well floured hands) work the mixture until you have a dough ball. You want to do this quickly so that the pea-sized butter pieces don’t melt too much. You can use more flour if the mixture is too moist. You can add 1 to 2 tablespoons of heavy cream if your mixture is too dry.My mixture was pretty dry and I added the extra cream. Press your dough ball into an 8-inch disk and cut into 8 wedges. You can make two disks and cut the two disks into 16 wedges for smaller scones. You could always cut the scones into the more traditional rounds like the ones in the “This Morning” video.
- Step 5 Put the scones on a parchment-lined baking sheet, spacing the scones about 2 or 3 inches apart. (If you have limited refrigerator space, place the scones on a plate at this point.)
- Step 6 Brush the top of the scones with (optional) heavy cream. Sprinkle the tops of the scones with (optional) coarse sugar for a little extra crunch.
- Step 7 Refrigerate for at least 15 minutes.
- Step 8 Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Step 9 If you have not already done so, space scones about 2 or 3 inches apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Step 10 Bake scones for 22-25 minutes. You want the scones to be golden brown around the edges and very lightly-browned on the top.
- Step 11 While the scones are baking, make the glaze. Whisk orange juice and confectioners’ sugar together. You want a thick but pourable glaze. Add more confectioners’ sugar to thicken as necessary or more orange juice to thin.
- Step 12 When the scones are baked, remove them from the oven and let them cool completely before drizzling them with the orange glaze.
- Step 13 Serve plain, with jam and/or with clotted cream.
This recipe is adapted from one on the Sally’s Baking Addiction blog. You can find the original recipe here.
