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Orange Cherry Cream Scones
2 cups All-purpose flour (10 oz)
1 TBS baking powder
½ tsp salt
¼ cup sugar (1 ¾ oz)
4 oz unsalted butter, cold, cut into ½ inch pieces
¾ cup dried cherries (hydrate in orange juice if they are not soft and plump)
1 Tablespoon orange zest
½ tsp orange extract
1 ¼ cups heavy cream
3 TBS unsalted butter, melted (1 ½ oz)
2 TBS organic sugar
Method:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Into a large bowl combine the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Cut the butter into the dry ingredients using a pastry blender until butter is hazelnut-sized. Then begin to flatten butter pieces with your hands quickly, to make flat sheets of butter, careful not to overmix, mixture should look shaggy and rough. Add dried cherries, orange zest, extract, and then most but not all of the cream. Cut ingredients together adding only enough cream to make a stiff by not dry mixture. You may need more or less cream than what the recipe calls for. Using a light touch, and a floured work surface and rolling pin, roll dough to 1 ½ inch thickness and chill for 15-20 minutes.
Cut scones into desired shape, you can push together the scrap dough once, using cream to “glue” if the dough is dry, rolled to the same thickness to cut remaining scones.
Before baking, brush scones with melted butter or cream and sprinkle with coarse, organic sugar. Bake until golden on top, this can take anywhere from 25-35 minutes depending on size. Scones are best eaten the same day they are baked. (Unbaked scones freeze really well, just thaw in refrigeration 2-4 hours before baking.)