John's scones recipe below is easy enough for me, that I didn't mess up on it. Further, if I do say so myself, this recipe makes much better scones than Whole Foods. -- Annie
John's Cranberry-Orange Scones
Ingredients:
- 4 cups plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons sugar, plus additional for sprinkling
- 2 tablespoons baking powder
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 3/4 pound cold unsalted butter, diced
- 4 extra-large eggs, lightly beaten
- 1 cup cold heavy cream
- 3/4 cup small-diced dried cranberries
- two tablespoons of orange zest
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
- 1 egg beaten with 2 tablespoons water or milk, for egg wash and then sprinkle a little sugar on top of each before baking.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine 4 cups of flour, 2 tablespoons sugar, baking powder, and salt. Blend in the cold butter at the lowest speed and mix until the butter is in pea-sized pieces. If you don't have a paddle attachment for mixer, you can beat by hand, until pea-size texture is achieved.Combine the eggs and heavy cream and quickly add them to the flour and butter mixture. Combine until just blended. Toss the cranberries with 1 tablespoon of flour, walnuts, orange zest and add them to the dough, and mix quickly. The dough may be a bit sticky.
Dump the well-combined dough out onto a well-floured surface. Flour your hands and a rolling pin and roll the dough 3/4-inch thick. You should see lumps of butter in the dough. Cut into squares with a 4-inch plain or fluted cutter, and then cut them in half diagonally to make triangles. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Brush the tops with egg wash. Sprinkle with sugar and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the outsides are crisp and the insides are fully baked.
