• 2 cups King Arthur unbleached all-purpose flour
  • 3 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ¼ cup cold butter, cut into piece
  • 1 cup golden raisins
  • Zest of one large orange
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 1 cup heavy whipping cream
  • Raw turbinado sugar for top of scones

My friend, Kim, called to ask if I could help with the upcoming Ladies Tea at Fairview Baptist Church in Apex, NC.  A group of lovely ladies will be gathering in my home this evening to discuss our ideas and get our creative juices flowing! Always excited about hosting guests, I decided to make scones…we are discussing a Ladies Tea after all! My friend, Lisa Prince, from WRAL’s Local Dish recently gave me these beautiful napkins which inspired the scones for this evening. Filled with plump, juicy golden raisins of orange, yellow and apricot colors, these scones will be the perfect accompaniment to this evening’s cup o’ tea! Treat your friends to an evening of tea and scones soon!

 

In a food processor combine flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Pulse a couple of times. Add pieces of cold butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Pour the mixture into a large bowl. Toss in the beautiful plump golden raisins and the aromatic orange  zest. Move the raisins around in the dry mixture a little.

Tip: Coating dried fruit, chocolate chips or nuts in a little flour will prevent them from sinking to the bottom when baking!

In a small bowl, combine the egg yolk and whipping cream. Add this to the dry mixture and stir with a fork just until combined. Be sure to not over mix. The mixture will appear dry, but is not. Turn the mixture onto a floured board or counter. This is where the fun begins! Gently press the mixture together until it can be easily kneaded. Don’t you just love the feeling of dough? Knead the dough for 2 minutes by folding and gently pressing the dough together until it is nearly smooth. Roll out into an 8-inch circle. Cut into 8 large beautiful scones.

Place on a greased baking stone or cookie sheet. Sprinkle raw turbinado sugar over the top of the scones. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in a 400-degree oven or until lightly browned on top. It is fun for children (and me too) to watch the scones “puff up” in the oven. That’s because the dry acid in the baking powder, when added to wet ingredients, begins to react and produces carbon dioxide bubbles just like yeast. Enjoy!