Happy spring, everyone!
It’s that weird in-between seasons time when the weather is warming up, but not quite warm enough to plant for summer, and we’re juuuuuust starting to see early spring vegetables pop up, both out of the ground and market.
It’s also a weird in-between time for pastry flavors – many people are done with the spices, apples, and general heaviness of winter. However, spring fruits and herbs – strawberries and the like – are still months away here. So, what’s a baker gal to do for a scone that’s appropriate for the cooler weather, but still reminds us of spring?
Enter the orange almond scone. Not quite the orange cranberry or orange spice of the holidays and winter, it’s lightly sweet, with a bit of zest tang and bitterness complementing the fruitiness of almonds and orange juice. They’re just fabulous with a piping hot mug of Earl Grey tea.
A note: buttermilk is key here to achieving fluffy scones. Because of the addition of almond flour, the dough is a bit heavier than some of my other scone recipes, and buttermilk works double duty as an extra leavener along with its tang. If you use sour milk or regular milk, reduce the amount by half and add it as needed to get the consistency right.
Other than that, it’s a scone recipe! So let’s get to it.
Orange Almond Scones
A lightly sweet, almond-studded treat for tea time.
you will need:
- 1 ¾ c all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
- ¼ c almond flour
- ¼ c granulated sugar
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1 tsp orange zest
- 5 tbsp cold salted butter, cut into cubes
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- juice of 1 medium orange (about ¼ c)
- ½ c buttermilk or sour milk, plus 1-2 tbsp for brushing (if using sour milk or regular milk, reduce the amount by ¼ c)
- ¼ tsp almond extract
- 1 tbsp orange liqueur (optional)
- 2-3 tbsp sliced almonds, for sprinkling
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with a Silpat or parchment paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, almond flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and orange zest. Cut in the butter using a pastry cutter or two forks until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. You can also do this step in the food processor, with 3-4 pulses.
- In a large measuring cup or medium bowl, combine the buttermilk, orange juice, almond extract, and orange liqueur, and whisk in the egg. Make a well in the center of the butter-flour mixture, then pour the buttermilk mixture in the middle and fold into the flour mixture enough to get a solid, fairly sticky dough, adding milk a little bit more at a time as needed to achieve this consistency.
- Turn dough onto a lightly floured countertop, and lightly knead the dough until it just comes together, sprinkling more flour as needed to keep it from getting too sticky. Pat it into a circle about 10 inches diameter and 1 ½ inches thick. Cut the dough into six or eight equal wedges.
- Transfer each wedge to the prepared baking sheet, spacing each wedge about 2 inches apart. Brush the tops of the wedges with buttermilk, sprinkle with sliced almonds, and additional sugar, if desired.
- Bake at 450 degrees F for 10-12 minutes until the edges are lightly browned, rotating the pan halfway through baking. Remove from the oven to a cooling rack, allow to cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer the scones to a cooling rack to cool completely, about 20 minutes.
The Crunchy Baker 