Cranberry, Orange and Walnut Scones

Ever since our friend Owen made scones for our family at a cozy brunch at his apartment in NYC, its been my go to recipe. He told me he got it from The NY Times (which is one of my fav places to find recipes 🌝). They were so tender and flavorful and had a buttery crisp edge.

I’ve recreated them dozens of times using whatever fruit and nut combination I have on hand, and they’re delicious each time.

Flour can turn out a different result in the dough each time so you’re going to want to add a tiny bit more cream if the mixture seems too dry, or a bit more flour if it’s overly sticky. To be honest, I’ve made them when they’re really sticky and they still turn out great; they’re just a little finicky to shape.

This recipe originally called for heavy cream but I only had half and half in the fridge and they were just as good and now a liiiiiittle bit healthierrrr..?

This recipe also calls for a bit of freezing here and there to ensure extra cold ingredients (better for the rise of your scones). But, if you’re tight on time, you can skip the freezing of the butter and just use it straight out of the fridge. You also don’t have to toast the walnuts if you’re running tight on time, but it does bring out their flavor more.

Servings: 8

Author: Tierney Larson (adapted from Owen Broder’s Family, who got it from The NY Times) hehe

Ingredients:

2 cups flour

2tbl baking powder

2tbl sugar

1tbl kosher salt

1/2 tsp orange zest

1/2 cup walnuts toasted, cooled* and chopped

1/2 cup scant of dried cranberries

5 tbl chilled unsalted butter cubed

1cup half and half or heavy cream

Now whatcha do is:

1- Preheat your oven to 425F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silpat.

2- Cube your butter and chuck it into the freezer while you prep the rest.

3- In a dry pan over medium heat, toast your walnuts until aromatic and slightly darker in color. When done, place in the freezer to cool.

 4- Meanwhile, in a large bowl whisk together your dry ingredients and the orange zest.

5- Add the chilled cubes of butter into the flour mixture and toss gently to coat the cubes of butter.

6- If using a pastry cutter, press down on the butter flour mixture while turning the bowl until the texture looks fairly even and you can still see bits of butter the size of peas. If using your fingers, flatten the bits of butter between your fingers and thumb into the flour and continue to gently work the butter into the flour until butter is pea sized.

6- Make a well in the flour butter mixture and add most of the half and half into the well. While turning the bowl, gently pull the flour into the cream until it’s mostly incorporated.

7- Add the cooled walnuts and cranberries and gently continue to stir. If there are still bits of flour add the rest of the half and half and stir until just combined and the dough is slightly sticky.

7- Tip the dough onto your prepared baking sheet and form it into a disk about 1 1/2 inches high, then slice into 8 triangles.

8- Pull the triangles slightly away from each other so they aren’t touching and brush with some heavy cream.

9- Place them in the freezer for 5-10 minutes. (This will help them keep their shape, and insure the butter is super cold)

10- Bake at 425 for 12-15min until slightly golden, and a skewer inserted comes out clean.