Ms Chef in Seattle

There is esprit de corps or playoff fever in the Pacific Northwest with the Seahawks fighting for another big trip and the 12s going all blue and green. Some folks are immune, but they keep their heads down. For the rest of us, two words end conversations.

My pre-game preparation began here, with the easiest recipe I ever adapted from another in my recipe box to suit a change in ingredients and in method. Today, some color in with the dough and the icing are also changed for the occasion, but the result is still a fluffy and warm scone ready to accompany the coffee and kickoff with the aroma of fresh-baked goodness. I share the recipe in the spirit of the moment because I’M IN.

juliyya’s Cranberry Orange Scones

2 c. unbleached flour (plus extra for dusting)

2 T. sugar

3 t. baking powder and 1/2 t. cream of tartar

1/2 t. salt

4 T. oil

1 egg

2/3 c. buttermilk or lemon-soured milk or mix of sour cream and milk

1/2 c. dried cranberries

grated zest of 1/2 orange (saving the other half of the zest for icing)

INSTRUCTIONS – SO EASY

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Put a piece of parchment paper on a baking sheet. Sprinkle a bit of flour on a dinner plate.
2. Sift dry ingredients into a mixing bowl big enough to hold the finished dough. Stir in the dried cranberries. (Today I also added some coconut. My choice.)
3. In separate bowl, whisk the egg and oil together, then add the buttermilk and orange zest.
4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. MIX ONLY UNTIL THE DRY INGREDIENTS ARE MOSTLY MOISTENED. DO NOT OVERMIX.
5. Plop the dough onto the floured dinner plate. Sprinkle a bit more flour over the top as needed to pat the dough down a bit as needed to fill the plate.
6. Using a scraper, divide the dough round into 6 or 8 scones, depending on size you want in the end or how hurried you are. Lift the segments with the scraper and place on the parchment paper. The object is speed.
7. Bake for approximately 12 minutes, just until they’re turning golden brown. Place on wire rack, dust off any extra flour with a pastry brush and immediately frost with the quick orange icing. Let it drip over the scones onto the parchment. Who cares about mess on there?

Icing is just a little chunk of soft butter, maybe a tablespoon of it, the rest of the zest, approximately a cup of powdered sugar and then fresh orange juice until it’s the normal consistency of glaze or icing. One can thus drizzle or slather as a matter of choice.  Your choice.

Go Hawks!