scones Archives - 2 Sisters 2 Cities

I have been looking through my pictures on my computer and found a couple of recipe that I forgot to share before I moved. This scone recipe is one of my favorites. I have brought these with me to M’s rental in Nantucket and also to a bachelorette party on Fire Island last summer. Apparently these are the scones to bring when you are visiting an island. These cranberry orange scones are the perfect breakfast pastry and are so enjoyable with a cup of coffee or tea. I remember having many perfect mornings in Nantucket with my sisters sitting outside with a cup of coffee and these scones.

Cranberry Orange Scones

Author: 2 Sisters 2 Cities

Ingredients

4 cups plus ¼ cup AP flour
¼ cup sugar
2 tbsp. baking powder
2 tsp. kosher salt
1 tbsp. grated orange zest
1½ cups of cold unsalted butter, diced (3 sticks)
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup cold heavy cream
1 cup dried cranberries
1 egg beaten with 2 tbsp. water or milk, for egg wash
½ cup confectioners' sugar, plus 2 tbsp.
4 tsp. freshly squeezed orange juice

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees
In the bowl of a mixer combine 4 cups flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and orange zest
Add the cut up cold butter and turn mixer on to the lowest speed until the butter is the size of peas.
In a separate bowl combine the eggs and heavy cream and then mix them into the butter mixture with the mixer speed on low. Mix until all ingredients are combined and the dough is still a little lumpy.
In another bowl mix the dried cranberries with ¼ cup of flour. Stir into dough on a low speed.
Dump the dough onto a well-floured surface and knead into a ball, making sure your hands are well-floured too.
Roll out to ¾ inch thickness with a floured rolling pin. There will still be visible bits of butter in the dough.
Cut out the scones with a floured 3 inch fluted circle cookie cutter. Take scraps of dough and form into a ball and roll out again until all of the dough is used.
Place the scones on a baking pan lined with parchment paper or a non-stick silicone mat.
Brush the tops of the scones with egg wash and then sprinkle with sugar.
Place baking sheet in oven and bake for 20 to 25 minutes until tops are lightly browned and scones are firm to the touch. Let scones cool.
To make Icing: Sir together the confectioners' sugar and orange juice until smooth and then drizzle on cooled scones.

Source- Adapted from Ina Garten on Foodnetwork.com

I love to bake. It is a stress reliever for me to bake something up and to be able to share it with my friends, family and co-workers. There is only one problem to this though: I love desserts way too much. I was about to say I love dessert like a fat kid likes cake… but think about the end result of that saying! Don’t worry I am not calling myself fat, but I do have to control what I eat and how much dessert I make because it could easily lead to that. So you can see why I get excited to find desserts that are somewhat healthier.

I found this recipe on the blog Skinnytaste and was so excited to make them. Gina calls these “Skinny Chocolate Chip Buttermilk Scones,” but somewhere along the line my family and coworkers just starting calling them skinny scones. I have made them twice already, once for a meeting at work and then another time to bring with me when I visited my parents over the weekend. They are really easy to whip up so you have to try to make them.

Chocolate-Chip “Skinny Scones”
Ingredients
3/4 cup reduced fat buttermilk
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 large egg
1 cup AP flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
3 tbsp. chilled butter
3/4 cup mini chocolate chips
Cooking spray
1 egg white
1 tbsp. sugar

Directions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Combine first four ingredients with a whisk in a medium-sized bowl. Set aside. Spray baking sheet with cooking spray or like a baking sheet with a silicone non-stick mat.

In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt with a whisk. Take cold butter and cut up into small pieces and put into flour mixture and cut into flour with pastry blender, until mixture resembles coarse meal. Fold in chocolate chips and then add in wet mixture. Stir gently until combined.

Place dough on a floured surface and knead lightly four times. Form the dough into a 9 inch circle that is 3/4” thick and place on baking sheet. Cut into 12 triangles all the way through. Take an egg white and whisk lightly. Brush the egg white on top of the dough and sprinkle with sugar. Place in the oven and bake for 18-20 minutes until golden. Serve warm.

Source– Adapted slightly from Skinnytaste.

Weight Watchers PointsPlus- 5 pointsplus per scone.