Sunday, September 20, 2009

SMS Orange Scented Scones.....

I'm so excited, this was my week to pick the recipe! I chose the Orange Scented Scones; I really like scones and, since my mom was English, they are dear to my heart. Here is a brief history of scones from the Joy of Baking.

There are two ways to pronounce scone; "Skon" and "Skoan". Scones are believed to have originated in Scotland and are closely related to the griddle baked flatbread, known as bannock. They were first made with oats, shaped into a large round, scored into four to six triangles, and cooked on a griddle either over an open fire or on top of the stove. The origin of the name 'scone' is just as unclear as where it came from. Some say the name comes from where the Kings of Scotland were crowned, the Stone (Scone) of Destiny. Others believe the name is derived from the Dutch word "schoonbrot" meaning fine white bread or from the German word "sconbrot" meaning 'fine or beautiful bread'. Still others say it comes from the Gaelic 'sgonn' a shapeless mass or large mouthful.
However you pronounce scone, people either like them or hate them. To the haters they are either tasteless, dry, too crumbly, too sweet, not sweet enough and on and on, LOL. For those who love them, plain or fancy, they are the perfect "go with" for tea or coffee or just because. I, too, have had my share of hockey pucks but when you get a good one, there is nothing better!
Melissa's recipe was very good! The scones were light, airy and easy to make. I felt they needed more orange zest and doubled what the recipe indicated. You could easily use this recipe and add whatever your taste buds are yearning for, chocolate chips, dried fruit or just plain and have some of your favorite jam on top! I hope everyone who baked with me this week enjoyed the scones and will make them again!

ORANGE SCENTED SCONES from The Sweet Melissa Baking Book

Makes 6 scones

For the scones:

8 tablespoons (1 stick) of cold unsalted butter
½ cup of oat flour or 2/3 cup whole oats (to be ground)
1 ½ cups of AP flour
2 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons freshly grated orange zest
2/3 cup heavy cream
1 large egg

For the Glaze:
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1 tablespoon sugar

Place the rack in the center oven. Preheat the oven to 350F degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Cut the cold butter into ½ inch pieces. Keep cold. Place the oat flour in the bowl of a food processor. If using whole oats, place the oats in the bowl of a food processor and pulse to a coarse flour. Add the AP flour, baking powder, salt, sugar , and zest, and pulse to combine. Add the chilled butter pieces and pulse until the size of medium peas.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the cream and egg until smooth. Fold the flour into the egg mixture to combine: the dough should hold together. Don’t over mix.

Turn the dough out into a lightly floured work surface and pat into a flattened round disk measuring 7 inches across. Using a sharp knife, cut the disk into 6 even triangles. Place at least 2 inches apart on the prepared cookie sheet.

For the glaze: Brush the scones with the heavy cream and sprinkle with the sugar.

Bake for 30 minutes, or until lightly golden. Remove to a wire rack and cool.

24 comments:

dunz said...

Your scones look lovely! The orange zest was a really nice flavour I wouldn't have thought to add into scones before :)

Nina said...

oh, yours look super nice! Thanks for hosting this week!

I had mentioned it in my blog but I didn't realize that you were from Orange County too!

Flourchild said...

Thank you for the excellent choice of recipes. I really enjoyed these scones and Im telling you they lasted 2 days in my house. Im glad you liked them too.
I added some history of scones to my post too. I found it very interesting.

Sarah said...

Loved the scones, wonderful pick!

Mrs. G said...

Thank you for hosting! Your scones look yummy.

Andrea at Nummy Kitchen said...

Robin, thank you for a wonderful SMS pick! Your scones look great and I loved the history lesson on scones :) I am a big scone fan and these were delicious. I am so glad you picked them, they were a perfect breakfast treat!

Elyse said...

Your scones look absolutely delicious!! Thanks for such an awesome choice (so glad that this was the SMS I "came back" with). Delicious!

Kaitlin said...

Thank you for this pick! I really loved these, and so did my roommates. It was my first time making scones, and a big success.

Susan said...

Your scones turned out great. Thanks for choosing this recipe. I loved them.

Melissa said...

This was a great choice! I loved how these scones turned out. It seems like everyone else did too!

Julie said...

Thanks for choosing this recipe!! Thanks for sharing the history of scones!

k.a.r.e.n said...

Your scones look great! Unfortunately, i'm one of the dislikers -- hater is such a strong word!

The Food Librarian said...

These look yummy! I love orange zest!

margot said...

Great choice! Yours look beautiful! I agree that there are some bad scones out there, but these ones were yummy.

Lulu the Baker said...

Thanks for picking such a delicious recipe Robin! They were so tasty; I'm sad I didn't make more!

HanaĆ¢ said...

Your scones look beautiful. We liked them a lot. I took them to a friend's brunch where everybody enjoyed. I served mine with homemade plum jam. Yum! Thank you so much for hosting.

I will be posting mine later today (sorry, for being late, too much going on, including being under the weather).

Eliana said...

Thanks for a great pick. I had loads of fun with these.

Katiecakes said...

Thank you for the fabulous pick this week! I really enjoyed these wonderful scones :D

Katie xox

Shandy said...

Your scones turned out great...YUM! Thank you for such a wonderful selection for this week's baking event.

BTW, the canning always turns out to be a huge production at least once a year when I get fruit. I always overdo what I think I can easily can at once...by a LONG shot, then I am exhausted and do not want to look at another canning jar for months to come.

The spiced pear butter smells and tastes like Christmas in a jar. Everything about the butter is just wonderful!

Karine said...

your scones look delicious! Thanks for sharing :)

spike. said...

loved these- great pick!

Talita said...

Yummm! Scones... I love them!

Anonymous said...

Thank you for your fabulous SMS selection, Robin. These scones were super delicious, and are definitely going in my "keepers" files! I can't wait to play with them a bit, and try some different flavor profiles. Yours look absolutely beautiful! Great job baking and hosting this week :)

Hope you're doing well, and having a great start to your weekend! Look forward to hearing from you soon :)

<3,
Joy

Unknown said...

Thanks for hosting the scone week Robin! Sorry I'm so late to comment. Your scones look perfect! I tried to add frozen blueberries to mine and wound up with blue scones but they were still pretty tasty!