Cranberry Orange Scones with Orange Glaze

There was a coffee shop in Toledo that had these lemon blueberry scones that I often day dream about when I am reaching for my afternoon coffee and craving a bit of sugar = the ultimate cure for the mid-day slump that would be better cured with a cat nap…but since curling up in a fetal position under my desk at 3pm isn’t an act that my boss would appreciate…sugar it is.

I wish I had eaten more lemon blueberry scones and fewer carrots.  Too few scones is what I regret most from 6 years of college, not the turning orange from too many carrots.  I was such a wild child.  If I could go back…that is what I’d change.  That is it.  More scones.  And perhaps fewer 8am classes.

Today is a bit of an exception, since I made scones…but on most days, my mid-day sugar fueled energy is in the form of a decent handful of stolen M&M’s or a Hershey’s miniature or a random Sourpatch Kid or LaffyTaffy (and a funny joke) that I found at the back of my desk drawer that might be confused as the best/worst junk drawer ever.

The hospital’s coffee shop sells scones…but they don’t hold a candle to those I remember so fondly.  And I am sure those at Beaners’s (renamed to Bigby…Beaners, come to find out, is not a ‘pc’ name) no longer taste as they did…seeing how my brain has a tendency to misshape and construed people, places, and things of my past – i.e….  Grandma’s house is no longer as large as I remember.   Little Debbie’s don’t have the same pizzazz.  Those scones are of my college days and my memory of them is shaped by so many factors of those days, long ago…I am 97.675% sure that they do not taste as they did then.

My odd fear that prevents me from stopping on my journey home to visit friends and family does not interfere with me from making my own scones.  The way I like and remember.  Full of flavors I am craving.

Loaded with tidbits of goodness, including chocolate chips; fresh, frozen, or dried fruit;  zest of something in the citrus family; any type of nut, roasted pecans being my favorite.  This go around, fresh cranberries and orange zest are smashed together.  Match made in scone heaven.

Sweeter than the true British scone.  And if you want..feel free to cut down on the sugar.  I understand…my sweet tooth is out. of. control.

I like them rich, loaded with butter and cream.  Waist friendly they are not…but darn it…I am eating raw broccoli and carrots right now… let a girl have a bit of butter and cream, guilt free.

Grate a couple of oranges…grate the orange and not your knuckles.

Roughly chop cranberries.  Corralling cats might be easier.

That zest…straight into the flour, sugar, salt, and baking POWDER.  Whisk it up.

There were two batches of scones made before I found the perfect combination of flour, sugar, butter, and eggs to make my scone loving soul sing.  I say this because my hand written pic of a recipe up top…not the final recipe I came to use.  But I like the picture…

 COLD butter needs to be cut into the flour/zest mixture.  I never seem to be able to do this quick enough or my hands are too warm or I get distracted by something shiny and glittery… but I never can get it to pea sized butter bits before it gets warm…solution?  Grate butter on a cheese grater, freeze, stir into flour/zest.  WIN!  This works for biscuits and pie crusts too.

Turn out, knead, shape, make an utter mess of your somewhat clean kitchen, cut.

No biscuit cutter?  Can’t find the biscuit cutter that you used merely 12 hours before?  Cut into triangles or squares or trapezoids.  Beaners scones were triangular.

Cold butter hitting a very hot oven…talk about your scones getting some air.  Poof!   Magic.

Wanna know a trick to icing that my mom shared with me … to make icing harden quickly before it all drips off…pop icing covered- insert type of baked good here- into a hot oven ( I used 400F this go around ) for about 20 seconds, NO MORE.  Your icing will come out on your baked good and not on the parchment paper lined baking sheet.  Every baker needs a few tricks up her sleeves … or apron?