-
1
Optional: Soak cranberries in the orange juice to plump them while you make the dough, for a few minutes, a few hours, or overnight before starting the recipe.
-
2
Mix dry ingredients together, then cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
-
3
Stir in orange juice and cranberries. Mix lightly until dough comes together. If it seems too dry, add more orange juice, but just one spoonful at a time. Texture should be like biscuit dough. Don't overmix.
-
4
Dump the dough out on an oiled or floured surface. Oil or flour your hands, pat the dough together, then divide into four balls.
-
5
Place each ball on an ungreased cookie sheet (or use a little cooking spray, just on the spots where you place the dough), then smooth and flatten each one to a 6-inch round about 1 inch thick.
-
6
Sprinkle rounds with sugar if desired (it makes the tops sparkly--I use demerara sugar if I have it). Using an oiled knife, cut each round into 6 wedges.
-
7
Bake at 425 degrees for about 20-25 minutes, or until lightly browned. Let cool on pan for a few minutes, then use a small serrated knife to separate the scones and transfer them to a rack or cloth-lined basket.
-
8
You can also make drop scones by dropping spoonfuls of dough onto a cookie sheet. (I like to use an ice cream scoop--the kind that will push the dough out. It makes them round and consistently sized.) These don't bake so long (maybe 15 minutes), so watch them closely.
-
9
I have normally made these in a heavy-duty mixer (Bosch), and when I had to make them by hand, it was much more challenging to avoid over-mixing while getting enough liquid incorporated. The finished texture was quite different. I had to bake them longer because they were doughy in the middle, and then they got too brown. So perhaps if you don't have a mixer, you should pat them thinner (maybe 3/4 inch) and add a little more baking powder to help the rise.
