Orange Scones

I have been wanting to write a post for FOREVER! Apparently I haven't figured out how to juggle reading, baking, and blogging along with the other things I have to do, like caring for a three month old (which I love). But hey! I still plan on stopping by here when I get the chance, and I still do fit in some baking and reading. Mostly I've been reading children's picture books. I've found some real gems by the way.

But today is a baking post sort of day! If you were to come visit me this week for a live, in-person book club, I would probably make these for you, or possibly something patriotic given the upcoming holiday. These are delicious though, and really aren't that difficult to make.

So, I always hate it when I want to get to a recipe on a blog but people always chat forever about it when I just want to see the recipe so I can eat it. Even so, I'm going to make you read a little bit more before I give you the recipe.

Has anyone else referred to fry bread or know people who refer to fry bread as scones? Well, those aren't the scones I'm talking about (although, those are quite tasty with a bit of homemade jam, cinnamon and sugar, or honey butter). My husband has grown up calling those scones, and I had heard that too, but I also knew scones as a delicious baked treat that I can get at Panera Bread or at a fair not too far from where I grew up. Because of this, there's been some confusion in our house when it comes to the mention of scones. My husband is usually thinking of deep fried goodness while I'm thinking of baked heaven. I decided to do some research because especially now that I can hold Google in the palm of my hand I like to learn anything and everything that has to do with random facts about, well, pretty much anything.

Here's what I found out:
Referring to fry bread as a scone is a regional thing, particularly to Utah, and it seems that no one knows why people started referring to deep fried dough as a scone. It appears that the baked scone has much older roots. Apparently, the deep fried versions are also known as Utah Scones or Pioneer Scones. My research is basically wrapped up in this one article from the Salt Lake Tribune.

Okay, know that I've shared my random collection of knowledge with you, let's get to the baking! I should note that this is actually a mashup of two recipes. Here's what I came up with:


Ingredients:

2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 and 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, frozen
Zest of 2 medium oranges
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla

For the glaze:
3 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp freshly squeezed orange juice

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a large bowl whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. *Grate the Frozen butter. Toss the grated butter into the flour mixture and combined with a pastry cutter, your fingers, or two knives until the mixture resembles course meal. Stir in orange zest.

In a small bowl whisk the cream, egg, and vanilla together. Drizzle the wet ingredients over the flour mixture and then toss the mixture together with a rubber spatula (I use a spoon and my hands a little) until everything appears moistened. Try your best to not overwork the dough. Sometimes, I add a tiny bit more cream to get it all to stick together, but be careful not to add too much as you don't want your dough to get too wet.

Work the dough into a ball with flowered hands and transfer to a baking sheet with parchment paper. Press into a 8 in disc and cut into 8 equal wedges with a very sharp knife.

Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and using a sharp knife separate the scones so there is a little more space between each one. Bake for 5 more minutes or until lightly brown on the top and edges. If you don't separate them before that second back, the insides of your scones won't cook all the way through. I've noticed with my oven that I sometimes have to cover the scones with aluminum foil to prevent the outsides from burning while the insides finish cooking.

Mix all the ingredients for the glaze together in a small bowl. With a spoon, add as much or as little glaze as desired. The glaze will firm up as it dries on top of the scone. For best results, let the scones cool a little before adding the glaze.

*Note: I don't always use frozen butter. Sometimes I cut up refrigerated butter into small cubes and then put it in with the flour using either a pastry cutter or two knives to sort of cut through the mixture. The danger is having your butter melt too quickly. As we're getting into warmer days, I thought I was going to have an issue with it melting. I made it once grating frozen butter and once my cubed way and both turned out fine. If you're worried about it, I'd say go the frozen butter way.

There you have it! I hope you enjoy these as much as I do. And now I must leave you as I do believe I hear a little one who has decided nap time is over. Fare thee well follow readers and bakers!