Cranberry-Orange Scones | More Holiday Baking

'Tis the season for baking...cookies, pies and scones.  This is a new recipe for our family that has quickly become a favorite.  It is delicious with coffee (for the grown ups) and hot chocolate for the kids.  These scones are quick to whip on the kitchen and add wonderful color to the table.  A great addition to any holiday breakfast for guests or yourself!

I have tried a few different scone recipes, as I think everyone has their own recipe they follow.  By  tweaking and combing parts of different recipes, I came up with this recipe.  I love that this recipe yields large and soft scones.

There is nothing worse that a hard, dense scone.

Cranberry-Orange Scones

3 cups of flour

1/3 cup of white sugar

1 tablespoon of baking powder

1/2 teaspoon of salt

11 tablespoons of diced, unsalted butter

2 eggs

1 cup of whole milk

1 cup of whole, fresh cranberries

The Glaze

3/4 cups of powdered sugar

Orange Juice-pour until desired consistency

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in KitchenAid with paddle attachment (it will be best for the wet dough.)  Add the diced  butter to the dry ingredients and mix on low until the butter is mixed in and the mixture feels like the consistency of course sand. 

Whisk together the eggs and milk in a separate bowl (it will look like your are about to make scrambled eggs.)  Add the mixture slowly to flour mixture while mixing on low.  Turn off the mixer once added.  Fold in cranberries using a spatula or wooden spoon.

 The dough will wet.  Sprinkle some flour onto the counter and scrape dough out of the bowl and onto the counter.  Knead the dough a couple times and pat into a disk.  I love how you can see the color and shape of the cranberries in the dough.  It seem so natural and authentic.

Sprinkle some flour onto of the disk.  Cut the disk into pieces, like you would cut a pizza.  The kids were laughing saying I was making cranberry pizza! 

Place scones on the lined baking sheet and bake for approximately 15 minutes.  The tops should be golden brown and the scones puffed.  You will see some of the juices from the popped cranberries.

Just look at the thickness of the scones and the generous serving of cranberries in each piece!

While the scones are baking make the glaze by  stirring together the orange juice and powdered sugar.  Use a whisk and make sure the glaze is smooth, with no lumps of sugar. 

When scones are finished baking, let them cool slightly and then add the glaze by drizzling on top with a spoon. 

The scones were so delicious...sweet and tart from the sugar, cranberries and orange glaze.  I loved using fresh cranberries because of how they juiced and popped while baking.  I am think that next time I will add a bit of vanilla...

These scones are delicious and could be made for any breakfast, not just Christmas.  They would be lovely served at a brunch, bridal shower or baby shower.



Mini Skillet Frittata | Easy Holiday Breakfast for Guests

I am always searching for breakfast dishes that double as easy entertaining and easy assembly.  After having a wonderful breakfast out the other morning, my search was over.  We had a lovely breakfast out with friends and I had the most delicious frittata served in a skillet.  The presentation was lovely (check it out on my Instagram) and it was delicious.  I was very inspired to try and create my own.

I have mini cast iron skillets that I use for single serve cookies and brownies…with vanilla ice cream, but now I also use them for single serve frittatas.  We have holiday guests coming later in the month and these frittatas will be perfect to serve to company.  When having guests, I like to keep it casual and simple!  These frittatas can be made for individual tastes and served with fresh fruit, whole wheat toast with jam and coffee.  A very easy, casual and yet, elegant breakfast.  Guests will be impressed with the use of the skillet!

Mini Skillet Frittata (for 2 skillets)

4-6 eggs

¾ to 1 cup of whole milk or half-n-half

Salt & Pepper (to taste)

Additions: cheese, peppers, mushroom, ham, onion

First, place skillets on a baking sheet (in case of spilling during the cooking process.)  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Place additions (cheese, peppers, etc.) into the skillet.  I used white cheddar cheese, feta cheese and peppers. 

Mix eggs, milk and salt and pepper together.  Make sure mixture is whisked well.  Pour egg mixture into skillet.  Place baking sheet into the oven and bake until the egg mixture puffs and is set in the center.  The edges will turn a golden brown.  This should take about 15 minutes.  While the eggs cook, guests can fix their coffee and relax around the table!

Remove baking sheet from oven.  Use potholders to handle the skillets!  I like to serve the skillet on a heatproof plate with a cloth.  The frittatas can be served immediately, but remind those that you are serving that the skillets are hot!

The frittatas were golden and delicious.  I loved the combination of white cheddar cheese melted together with feta cheese.  The result was sharp and salty mixed with the fluffiness of the egg mixture. 

The frittatas are a great way to use up any leftover veggies that you may have on hand.  They can also make an easy week night dinner.  There are numerous things that can be added to the frittata…the combinations are endless.  I would love to make a “meat lover” version with bits of bacon, crumbled cooked breakfast sausage and cheddar cheese.  Another great combination would be just veggies like peppers, onions, mushrooms and diced tomatoes with feta cheese. 

Have fun and be creative!