Cranberry Orange Scone Recipe - Mess for Less (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret to a perfect scone? ›

But frozen grated butter is the real key to success. Like with pie crust, work the cold butter into the dry ingredients to create crumbs. The butter/flour crumbs melt as the scones bake, releasing steam and creating air pockets. These pockets create a flaky center while keeping the edges crumbly and crisp.

You can make a similar heavy cream alternative using regular milk and butter. Whole milk has a fat percentage of around 3.5% and is preferable to lower-fat varieties, but you'll still want to use more melted butter than you would with half-and-half. For best results, try mixing ⅔ cup of whole milk with ⅓ cup butter.

We recommend using your hands until the mixture comes together. Overworking the dough will lead to scones that are tough and chewy, rather than light and flaky. The less you knead the mix, the less the gluten will tighten up – which means your scones will stay loose and crumbly, rather than tight and springy.

Pack the scones closely on the baking tray so they will support each other as they rise rather than spreading. Make scones the day you need them – they taste far better warm.

In my view, the perfect scone should have puffy height and be light and flaky. The internal crumb should exhibit qualities of a light-colored moist, soft, tender texture. The scone should not be wet or doughy nor should it be hard and/or dry, with a chippy or chibbly texture.

And if you are debating whether to use cream or milk in your scone dough, remember that cream, especially whipping cream, is 35 % fat (or more), which brings a lot of richness to the dough, while adding slightly less water, and this will yield scones that are more tender and richer that store very well and don't dry ...

I cut that richness with a splash of milk to hydrate the dough. Using 100% cream would make a dry but rich dough that's golden and tender, but far too crumbly and dense. Meanwhile, using all milk would make the dough sticky, wet, and lean, producing a pale scone that's fluffy but chewy, bordering on tough.

You can use whole milk or opt for skim milk to help slash the calories and fat content of your recipe. This substitute is especially useful in cooking, but it may alter the texture of baked goods and will not whip as well as heavy cream.

To ensure taller scones, start with a thicker dough disc and place the scones on a tray with sides, allowing them to slightly touch one another. This arrangement encourages the scones to push against the pan and each other, promoting height.

Why do you put eggs in scones? ›

You might need a teaspoon or two more cream as its consistency is thicker than milk. Large Egg - The egg helps bind the ingredients together and increases the richness and flavour. Unsalted butter - Has to be cold to create flaky layers within the scone.

Scones and biscuits both need a hot, quick bake. The high, quick heat is needed to turn that butter into nice steamy air pockets without leaving pools of butter on the cookie sheet.

American scones use much more butter than British scones, and they usually have quite a bit more sugar. The extra butter is what makes them so much denser. This is not really a good or bad thing, as British scones pile on plenty of sugar (in the form of preserves/jam) and butter or clotted cream as toppings.

You want to avoid twisting until the cutter reaches the work surface, if you twist as you cut it can lock up the sides and prevent the scones from rising evenly. Place the scones, smooth side up onto a parchment-lined baking tray. Cover the scones with clingfilm and rest for an hour before baking.

Overworking the dough: when you overwork your dough, your scones can come out tough and chewy, rather than that desired light, crumbly texture. The trick is to use light pressure and only the work the dough until it just comes together.

Scoop out clotted cream and jams onto your plate, enough for one scone. Break apart a small bite-sized portion of scone with your hands or if using a knife, cut the scone horizontally. Use a knife to slather on cream and jam onto the broken-off piece of scone. The bite-sized piece of scone should be eaten in 1-2 bites.

The longer you knead the dough, the stronger the gluten network will be. We want just enough gluten for the scones to hold their shape, but not so much that we sacrifice the light and flaky texture. Over-kneading your dough also increases the chance of your butter getting too warm.

The explanation is simple: As with other doughs, including pizza dough, resting lets scone dough's gluten relax completely, so that it doesn't snap back during shaping or baking.