As a creative person, I have many hobbies, and I'm always trying to find something new to try. Given the wide range of possibilities, baking has been something I've loved doing since I was a child. I can remember helping my mom make dozens and dozens of cookies at Christmas time until the point of exhaustion. So exhausted in fact that by the end of the marathon, I would think never again. Never baking again.
Example of a cookie marathon and what 21 different kinds of cookies look like in case you were wondering:
Of course, sometime later I'd be back at it. Sometimes baking something as simple as opening up a box of brownie mix, and other times finding a new recipe in a cookbook to try. Or on occasion I would tryout some fun new decorating idea.
A pond full of Koi Cupcakes:
These days it's even easier to try new things with the countless number of recipes available on Pinterest. I am often on my iPad looking for a new and interesting recipe or craft to try in the future. I'm sure many of you can relate to having a Pinterest board full of recipes and DIYs, and you've only made a handful of them.
These days I've been making an effort to get adventurous in baking. Half of that is probably due to my newest obsession with the Great British Baking Show, and the other half of that is probably due to my recently remodeled kitchen which resulted in a better layout for baking. Take that and add in a dash of I visited Scotland last month, and you get "Make all the Scones!"
I enjoy American scones. In fact before they changed the recipe, I couldn't wait to buy a pumpkin scone from that extremely well known American coffee shop each fall. However, I love traditional British scones. Some days all I want is a plain scone with some jam and butter in a lovely size not covered in glazes and sugar. Seriously, America, why do we insist on making everything huge??
I jumped on Pinterest to find a recipe for a traditional scone, and quickly found the perfect one. Given my newest baking show obsession, how could I not try a scone recipe from the delightful, Queen of Baking, Mary Berry?
Of course, this meant I had to research and do a couple new things:
1. Weighing ingredients. In the US, we are all about using cups to measure ingredients. Most every where else, they weigh ingredients which, fun fact, will usually result in a much better bake.
2. Where the heck do I find self raising flour? The answer, in the US, you don't. It's a rarity. Thanks to good old Google though, I just needed to add baking powder to my boring old flour to make it self raising.
3. What in the world is caster sugar? Answer: It's super fine sugar and falls somewhere between granulated sugar and powdered sugar. Add the granulated sugar to a food processor, grind it up a bit until you get a consistency of fine sand, and voilà, you have caster sugar!
I am happy to say my first attempt at baking scones was an absolute success! Not perfect and uniform in shape and size - sorry, Mary and Paul. Flavor was delightful, though, so I am calling it a win.
After my first victory, I decided to take it a step farther and add some more flavors to my scones by adding dried cranberries and orange zest and an orange glaze. I didn't follow a specific recipe for Orange Cranberry Scones. I literally just took Mary Berry's Scones and added dried cranberries and orange zest. For the first time, I got adventurous.
The result? Delicious scones that were not a failure and taste tested approved by many! Bonus - I bought myself new fluted cutters so even the shape and size was closer to uniformity!
Want to try making them yourself? Here's Mary Berry's Scone recipe along with my additions to make orange cranberry scones.
Mary Berry's Scones
Ingredients
- 450g (1lb) self raising flour (add 6 tsp baking powder to plain flour and mix well)
- 2 rounded tsp baking powder
- 75g (3oz) butter
- 50g (2 oz) caster sugar
- 2 large eggs
- About 225 ml (8fl oz) milk
Directions
Preheat over to 425°F. Lightly grease two baking sheets.
Put the flour and baking powder into a bowl. Add the butter and rub it in until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. (I used a pastry cutter, so the heat from my hands wouldn't soften the butter too much.) Stir in the sugar. Beat the eggs together and make up to 300ml (10fl oz) with the milk, then put about 2 TBSP aside in a cup for later. Gradually add the egg mixture to the dry ingredients, stirring it in until you have a soft dough. It is far better that the scone mixture is on the wet side, sticking to your fingers, as the scones will rise better.
Turn the dough out on to a lightly floured surface and flatten it to a thickness of 1/2 - 1in. Use a 2in fluted cutter to stamp out the scones by pushing it straight down into the dough (as opposed to twisting) then lifting it straight out. This ensures that they rise evenly. Gently push the remaining dough together, knead lightly, re-roll, and cut out more.
Arrange on the prepared baking sheets and brush the tops with the reserved beaten egg mixture to glaze. Bake for 10-15 minutes, until well risen and golden, then transfer to a wire rack, and leave to cool, covered with a clean tea towel to keep them moist.
Serve as fresh as possible.
To Make Orange Cranberry Scones:
- 1 cup dried cranberries, chopped
- zest from one orange
If you would like to add an orange glaze to the scones (I liked them both with and without the glaze), here is the simple recipe.
Orange Glaze
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1/8-1/4 tsp orange zest
- 2 tsp fresh orange juice
Mix all ingredients together. Brush the tops of the cooled scones with the glaze.
If you bake these scones, share in the comments. I love to hear about others' baking adventures. Happy baking, followers, and until next time, have a magical day!
