Although lately I’ve been much more of a coffee person than I’ve ever been before, I grew up being strictly a tea drinker. While I still love to dunk cookies into a warm drink, there aren’t too many things than can beat a freshly made scone with your morning cup of tea (or coffee). My mom used to make these orange scones for us growing up and drizzle a sweet zesty icing on top. They are best just out the oven and perfect for a girls’ brunch or special lazy Saturday breakfast.
Orange Zest Scones, makes 8.
2 1/4 cups flour
5-6 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/3 cup cold butter in pieces
1 tablespoon grated orange zest
1/2 cup fresh orange juice
1/4 cup milk
1 egg (slightly beaten)
For the icing:
2-3 tablespoons warm butter
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon grated orange zest
2 teaspoon orange juice
1-2 teaspoons milk
Mix together the flour, sugar and baking powder in a large bowl. Use a pastry blender to cut in the pieces of cold butter and orange zest until the mixture looks like course crumbles.
Add in the orange juice, milk and egg and mix until combined. Transfer the sticky dough to a floured surface and gently fold in flour until the dough is only slightly sticky.
Roll out the dough to make a 10″ circle and sprinkle 2 tablespoons of sugar on top of the dough. Use a pizza cutter to cut the circle into 8 sections (or 12 if you want smaller scones), and place the sections on a greased baking sheet or ungreased baking stone with a little room between the slices.
Bake in a 400° oven for 15-17 minutes or until the edges start to brown.
For the icing, use a fork to mash together the warm butter and powdered sugar. Then add in the zest, juice and milk to form a runny buttercream type icing. If the icing is too thick, add more juice or milk, and if it’s too runny, add more powdered sugar.
Drizzle the icing on the warm scones and serve immediately.
The scone itself is only lightly sweet, but it’s balanced out by the light sugar coating and the sweet drizzled icing on top. If you aren’t going to serve these right away, they will still be delicious, but I would wait to ice them until right before you serve your scones.
I have to say that I was having a bit of a rough week when I made these and the smell of the orange zest was so calming that baking these was kind of a stress relief from the rest of the day. I couldn’t resist eating one right out of the oven, and it tasted so good and reminded me so much of home that I actually teared up a bit after my first bite. Whether you cry when you eat them or not, I hope making these becomes a happy memory for you too! xo. Laura
Credits/ Author and Photography: Laura Gummerman. Photos edited with A Beautiful Mess actions.
Orange Zest Scones
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups flour
- 5-6 tablespoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/3 cup cold butter in pieces
- 1 tablespoon grated orange zest
- 1/2 cup fresh orange juice
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1 egg slightly beaten
For the icing:
- 2-3 tablespoons warm butter
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon grated orange zest
- 2 teaspoon orange juice
- 1-2 teaspoons milk
Instructions
-
Mix together the flour, sugar and baking powder in a large bowl. Use a pastry blender to cut in the pieces of cold butter and orange zest until the mixture looks like course crumbles. Add in the orange juice, milk and egg and mix until combined. Transfer the sticky dough to a floured surface and gently fold in flour until the dough is only slightly sticky.
-
Roll out the dough to make a 10" circle and sprinkle 2 tablespoons of sugar on top of the dough. Use a pizza cutter to cut the circle into 8 sections (or 12 if you want smaller scones), and place the sections on a greased baking sheet or ungreased baking stone with a little room between the slices.
-
Bake in a 400° oven for 15-17 minutes or until the edges start to brown.
-
For the icing, use a fork to mash together the warm butter and powdered sugar. Then add in the zest, juice and milk to form a runny buttercream type icing. If the icing is too thick, add more juice or milk, and if it's too runny, add more powdered sugar.
-
Drizzle the icing on the warm scones and serve immediately.
Recipe Notes
The scone itself is only lightly sweet, but it's balanced out by the light sugar coating and the sweet drizzled icing on top. If you aren't going to serve these right away, they will still be delicious, but I would wait to ice them until right before you serve your scones.
32 Comments
thanks Laura, they’re delish!!
These came out well! I used 3 T stevia, 3 T sugar. Next time I’ll add raisins.
That looks really good
Great idea!
I have lemons in my yard, not oranges, so I tried this recipe with a modification to get the lemon juice. At least 8 hours before making the scones, I sliced two lemons into very thin slices, removed the seeds, placed them in a bowl, covered them with 2 cups of sugar, covered the bowl and left it at room temperature. Then I strained the contents of the bowl into another bowl to separate the slices (and remaining sugar) from the light syrup. The sugar pulls out the juice and adds just enough sweetness so that i/2 cup of the syrup can be used in place of the orange juice. Because I like a little burst of flavor within the scones, I also chopped up the peel from about half of the lemon slices into chunks and added them into the batter. They may have added a bit too much moisture since the slices had just come out of the syrup. Next time I’ll try adding dried lemon rind instead.
Food Ideas – http://foodsideas.com
I have just sent this recipe to some friends, hopefully they will enjoy this as much as I have.
Maff | http://www.whatmaffsaid.co.uk/
I have lemons galore on a tree outside. I think I will try this recipe with just a bit more sugar and lemon zest. I’ll report back when done.
Yes, Elsie has the M/L one, but the S/M would probably have been better. Switch it out if you can!
Laura 🙂
These scones look absolutely delectable. It’s always good to have something that makes you remember your home if you are feeling home sick. :]
// ▲ itsCarmen.com ▲
I have been wanted all things tea party related lately. I want to make all the scones. Love the addition of orange.
These look so delicious! the perfect treat for summertime.
Yum, yum, yum! These sound amazing!
These scones look amazing! I’m going to have to try them soon!
Paige
http://thehappyflammily.com
These look so good! I cannot wait to try these!
http://thatsmagsforyou.com
Ooh they look so yummy!
Aleeha xXx
www.halesaaw.com
I love scones and tea! In combination with orange sounds perfect.
An it looks sooo yummy and it is so easy to made and quicke!
Great idea!
Best, Patricia from http://blog.fancythoughts.de/
Wow, these scones looks solo yummy. Thanks for sharing. By the way, I saw a post about the PUBLIC Bikes and I would love to know what size do you have for your cream bike? I ordered a M/L for my height of “5’7” and I feel it is just too large for me. It just looks ridiculous for my body. The M/L bike seems like it would suit someone taller than me, NOT shorter. Do you think perhaps the S/M would have been a better size? I truly need help deciding as I would exchange mine for the ideal size based on your suggestions. Thanks in advance
Yum!! This looks so good! I definitely will have to make this. 🙂
These look delicious! My boyfriend and I have been super into baking recently, maybe we’ll have to give these a try 🙂
-Rae
studentsandstyle.wordpress.com
That looks really good http://www.hannamarielei.com
To tell you the truth, I’ve never had a scone before. These look like something I could make myself.
Going to have to make these even just for the reason to smell fresh orange zest! I made orange cinnamon rolls for christmas…. and can’t get that delish smell out of my head
http://juliettelaura.blogspot.com/2014/12/orange-cinnamon-rolls-for-christmas.html
Aww, thank for sharing such a delight and nostalgic treat. I almost teared up with the notion of you tearing up. xo
I love orange baked goods in the mornings. The citrus is so refreshing and definitely good with tea. Orange cinnamon rolls are also a good summer breakfast option!
Monica / Mocha and Moccasins
Mmmmmm scones! Ugh, this is what foodie dreams are made of 😉
They must be so yummy! I feel quite tempted to give them a try!
I can already think of me eating them as breakfast! Haha…
Best Regards,
Angelina Stroumpouli
www.just-angelina.com
These look amazing, I’m going to make some this week!! Thank you so much for sharing! I bet they’d be fantastic with some creme fraiche too ?
www.thestephblog.com
yum! They look scrumptious!
http://xoxobella.com/
These look so yummy. I simply love scones.
Ohhhhh these look DELIGHTFUL!! I need to bake up some scones for my little shop x
www.theteabee.com
This should put all the oranges in the fridge to good use! I’m so glad all of these ingredients are available in my pantry!
http://annescribblesanddoodles.blogspot.com/
Oh my! I’m in looooove