By Laura Edwins, Contributor
Makes 12 large scones
Scones
2-1/2 cups self-rising flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
Grated zest of 2 oranges
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves (which I never have, and sometimes use pumpkin pie spice as a poor substitute)
1/2 cup (one stick) cold cubed butter
3/4 cup pecan pieces (I substituted walnuts which I had on hand)
3/4 cup dried sweetened cranberries (such as Craisons)
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1. Combine first 7 ingredients, whisk together to mix.
2. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
3. Using a handheld pastry blender or food processor, cut in butter until the butter is the size of small peas. (Dicing the butter into small chunks first really is helpful.)
4. Stir in pecan pieces and cranberries. Make a well in the center of the dough.
5. Pour whipping cream into center of the well. Blend until dough comes together, but do not overmix. (I used a wooden spoon to stir everything together and my hands a bit at the end.)
6. On a lightly floured surface, divide dough in half, and form each half into a 6-inch circle. (About a 1/2-inch thick.) Note: You can wrap the dough in Saran Wrap at this point, and refrigerate overnight. Cut each circle into 6 pie-shaped wedges (I used a pizza cutter for this). Place 2-inch apart on a greased or parchment-line baking sheet.
7. Bake 15-18 minutes until tops are golden brown and centers of scones test done. Prepare glaze while scones are baking. Note: It may just be my oven, but my scones were done in less than 15 minutes. Set your timer for 10 minutes, and monitor them closely.
8. Remove from oven, and transfer scones to a cooling rack.
Glaze
2 cups sifted confectioner's sugar (mine was not sifted)
Grated zest of 1 orange
2-3 tablespoons orange juice
Start with 1/2 cup of confectioner's sugar and orange zest in a small bowl. Add a few drops of orange juice at a time, and stir or whisk constantly to combine. Continue adding orange juice and confectioner's sugar until you have enough glaze, and it's quite thick. Adding the ingredients slowly will keep the glaze from getting lumpy. Do not use too much orange juice.
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