At long last, I was able to get a couple of pictures of another early morning breakfast catering job. Let me be clear about one thing, I love scones. Oh, yes, scones, I love you. I do. All of you.
I also love Orangette. This recipe is a slight variation on Orangette's, who is really the authority on the matter. The beauty of her recipe is the infinite ways you can play with it, and this is just the beginnings of my adventure.
Orange Nutmeg Scones
1/2 C buttermilk (I use low-fat.)
1 egg
2 tbs dark brown sugar
2 C all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
zest of 1 orange
1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
4 tbs (1/2 stick) unsalted cold butter, cubed
1 tbs sugar
(I bet 3/4 C walnuts would take it to the next level of goodness.)
1 egg and 1 tbs water for egg wash
1/2 c confectioner's sugar
2-4 tbs fresh squeezed orange juice
Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
Beat together the first three ingredients, the buttermilk, egg and dark brown sugar, in a small bowl. Set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg. Stir in the orange zest. Then, work in the cold cubed butter, rubbing it into the flour mixture with your finger tips. Work it until there are on lumps of butter larger than a pea. (The orange zest should also release some of the oils during the rubbing, making the mixture very slightly orange in color.)
Add the 1 tbs sugar.
Pour the wet into the dry, and bring the dough together slightly with a wooden spoon.
Turn it out onto a floured counter and "knead it no more than 12 times." Pat the dough into a round disk, about 1/2 inch thick. Cut into 8 wedges. Place on a parchment or silpat lined baking sheet. Whisk together the egg and water, and brush the scones with the egg wash. Bake for about 15 minutes, until golden brown. Make sure to rotate the pan 1/2 through baking. Cool on a rack.
To make the glaze, use the juice from the orange that was zested. I admit, I never actually measure my glazes. They are so variable to humidity and the location of the moon and whatnot. I just whisk small amounts of the juice into the powdered sugar until I have a consistency that makes ribbons when poured from a spoon, or is just barely pourable. If you add too much juice, you can always add more sugar.
When the scones have cooled, drizzle with the glaze.
Eat. Now. Yummmmy! These do not store well, and nor should they. The fun of scones is their short lifespan. The dough, however, freezes well. I do make the dough the night before, and bake it off in the morning. It takes the edge off the morning, for sure.
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