Cranberry Orange Scones

This scone recipe is very good. It is a large-batch recipe. You can reduce the ingredients by half to make a small batch. I use an electric mixer to cut butter into the flour mixture, and it works really well. This recipe makes 12 large scones or 16 small scones. Ingredients: 4 to 4-1/4 cups all-purpose flour plus more for rolling. 1/4 cup sugar 1 tbsp baking powder 1 tsp. baking soda 1-1/2 ts. salt 1 tb. grated orange zest 3 sticks (1-1/2 cup) unsalted butter, cold (diced) 4 large eggs, lightly beaten 1/4 cup fresh-squeezed orange juice (about 1 large orange) 3/4 cup milk 2 tsp vanilla extract or orange extract 1-1/2 cups dried cranberries Egg-washed or melted butter for brushing Raw sugar for topping, optional (or simple graze) Method: 1. Preheat oven to 400°F. 2. In the bowl of an electric mixer with a paddle attachment, mix all of the dry ingredients together, including sugar and orange zest. 3. Add cold butter and mix at low speed until the mixture forms coarse crumbs for about 3-5 minutes. 4. Combine orange juice, milk, and vanilla together and make 1 cup of liquid mixture. 5. Add the eggs and milk-orange juice mixture to the dry mixture and mix just until the dough comes together at low speed. Do not over-mix. 6. Mix dried cranberries with 1/4 cup flour and add to the dough, mix for a few seconds just until combined. 7. The dough will be lumpy when turned onto a well-floured work surface. and knead it by hand to hold it together. Then divide the dough into 2 portions. 8. Shape each portion of dough into 2 circles about 3/4 inches thick. Cut each circle into 6 or 8 wedges. Then transfer the scones to 2 lined baking sheets. 9. Brush each wedge with egg-washed and sprinkle with raw sugar. Bake 20-25 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted comes out clean. 10. Let cool and serve with jam.