ORANGE GINGER SCONES
If you've ever written scones off as dry, flavorless bricks, these will change your world. Not unlike biscuits, these scone are buttery, flakey, and toasty. The orange and ginger make them wonderfully fragrant, and the orange glaze makes them somewhat reminiscent of a high-end Pillsbury Orange Roll (those who know know). They're perfect for Sunday mornings and any Spring or Summer occasions.
Total time: 60 minutes
Bake time: 30 minutes
Makes 8 scones
Ingredients for the scones:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
Zest of 1+1/2 navel oranges
1 tsp grated ginger
1 stick unsalted butter, frozen
1 extra large egg, beaten
1+1/4 cups heavy cream, plus 3 tbsp for brushing
3 tbsp course sugar, for tops
Ingredients for the glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
Zest of remaining 1/2 orange
Juice of 1 orange, about 3 tbsp
Instructions for the scones:
1.) Place the stick of butter in the freezer; for this recipe, the colder you have it, the better. Preheat your oven (on convection if available) to 375° F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2.) To begin the dough, put flour, sugar, salt, and baking soda in a large bowl and mix briefly until combined. Then add the orange zest and ginger, and mix just until distributed.
3.) Remove butter from the freezer (15 minutes should do the trick, but longer won't hurt) and, using the side of a box grater that you would use to shred cheese, grate the frozen butter into the dry ingredients. Toss gently to coat the butter, but do not press into flour. We want visible chunks of coated butter that look to be roughly the size of peas. If you see any that are particularly big, feel free to break them up with your hands.
4.) Now, make a small well in the center of the bowl and fill with beaten egg and heavy cream. Using a fork or rubber spatula, begin in the center of the bowl and work outwards, slowly mixing the dry ingredients into the wet. Once most of the dry ingredients are incorporated, you can switch to your hands and work the dough gently a few times to bring all the dry ingredients in. The resulting dough should be quite dry and somewhat crumbly.
5.) On a lightly floured surface, gently press dough into a 1" high round. Using a chef's knife or bench scraper, cut into 8 slices, as you would a pizza.
6.) Gently lift wedges and distribute onto lined baking sheet. These will puff a bit, so try to leave space between them. If any pieces crumble off in transit, that's okay; just stick them back on. (At this point they should resemble the photo!)
7.) Using a pastry brush (or paper towel if you don't have one), gently coat the top of each scone with remaining heavy cream and sprinkle liberally with course sugar - the dough is not super sweet, so this is your chance to sweeten the tops to your liking.
8.) Bake for about 30 minutes, or until scones are golden brown. Remove from oven. These are best eaten warm, but can be wrapped lightly in tin foil and stored at room temp up to a day.
Instructions for the glaze:
1.) Combine powdered sugar, orange zest, and orange juice in a small bowl. Whisk until smooth.
2.) For scones that will be eaten immediately, feel free to drizzle with a small amount of glaze while still warm. Wait to glaze any that will be eaten later.