Hitting the Recipe Jackpot...

So I admit I've been on somewhat of a scone breakfast kick lately.  I'm not partial to any one particular flavor but the problem with buying scones on the go is that a)it becomes an expensive habit and b)they are always massive when you get them from a bakery.  I've been on the lookout for am easy and delicious scone recipe that I could make at home and I came across this one about a month ago.  We usually have chefs or different food businesses in the store on Saturday afternoons demoing their products or showing off their culinary skills and one of my favorite's has been this woman named Hazel Sy who is the voiced behind the food blog "tasty pursuits" (which is a great read).  Hazel's first trip to the store resulted in the phenomenal pork and cabbage fried dumplings that I made for a party back in the winter that were scoffed up in minutes and were so easy to make that my brother was the one that was charge of the assembly.  With that being said, as soon as I saw that Hazel was going to conquer the scone I knew that I had another sure winner on my hands. 

I adapted my recipe for Hazel's a little bit because the original one is served with a great orange honey butter but spreads and additional calories aren't exactly conducive to the morning commute.  So instead I just added some orange zest to the scone batter and didn't miss out on any additional flavor.  Her recipe also uses a mini scone pan which made them look adorable in perfect little triangles but the last thing I need in my life is another speciality baking pan so I just proportioned them out using an ice cream scoop and baked them on a cookie sheet which gave them more of a rustic look. 

Cranberry Orange Scones
(makes 8-10 depending on size)

-2 cups all-purpose flour
-1/3 cup sugar
-1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
-2 teaspoons baking powder
-6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
-zest of 1 orange
-3/4 cup heavy cream
-1/2 cup dried cranberries

Preheat your oven to 350F degrees.  Line a baking sheet with parchment and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients together.  Using a mixer on low speed, mix ingredients until blended together about 1 minute.

Add the butter and zest and mix on low speed until butter has been combined about 2 minutes.  This is a recipe where you want the butter to be incorporated into the batter so you shouldn't see any visible chunks in the bowl (basically throw away the concept of pea-sized pieces for this recipe that you usually hear mentioned in baking).

Add the heavy cream and mix briefly until dough is smooth about 30 seconds.  Add the cranberries and mix on low just until they are combined into the batter about 15 seconds more. 

Using a 1/4 cup size measuring cup or ice cream scoop, scoop the batter onto the reserved baking sheet leaving about 2-3 inches in between each scone to give them some room to spread out when baking.  If you want to get extra fancy or have it laying around in your pantry, sprinkle some demura (coarse) sugar on top of the scones to give them some extra crunch but either way they are going to turn out great. 

Bake the scones for approximately 20-24 minutes until they start to get golden brown on the bottom.  Let cool 15-20 minutes and then they are ready for consumption. 

Considering I've made different scones with the base recipe three weeks  in a row, it's definitely a winner and one of those recipes that I'm going to know by heart very soon.   Round 2 resulted in a combination of blueberry lemon and cheddar scallion and Round 3 was strawberry almond since I had an abundance of strawberries on hand but really any combination that suits you will be great.  The best part about this recipe is that I cannot tell you enough how easy and simple they are to make - we are talking minimal mess, ingredients that all home cooks have in their pantries and a quick turn around time for instant gratification!!