Chevre Orange & Cranberry Scones

Soft sweet scones made with fresh oranges and tangy chevre straight from the homestead.

Every winter I crave the summer, with its bright flavors, hot days, and warm evenings. These scones deliver the perfect antidote to those chilly overcast days when spring gardens and summer harvests seem like an eternity away. My chevre orange and cranberry scones are sweet and bright, with the shinning flavors of citrus and hints of tart cranberry. Even better, all the ingredients are in season during the winter when we need those radiant memories and flavors of sunshine.

Use up some of your fresh goat cheese by baking these scones- No chevre? Simply substitute with cream cheese for perfectly light scones.

I try to use up fresh ingredients from the homestead as much as possible, especially with the ever rising cost of groceries. Oranges from a neighbor, my fresh chevre, and extra large duck eggs are the homestead stars in this scone recipe. But don't worry, you can still enjoy this recipe even if you don't have access to all these ingredients. It's easy to substitute large chicken eggs for the duck eggs and cream cheese for the chevre.

If you're still not convinced to make these mouth watering scones, my 4 year old daughter and pickiest eater requested I make them for her upcoming birthday instead of cake. While I have my suspicions it is mostly due to her getting my husbands serving of orange icing, it's still a win in this moms book! The optional orange icing bumps up the orange flavor and adds a bit more sweetness for those of us with an extra sweet tooth. While my daughter and I love the icing, my non-dessert loving boys like these scones with just a dusting of powdered sugar. Either way, the scones don't last more than a few hours here.

Chevre Orange & Cranberry Scones

Makes 8 scones

• 3 cups flour

• ¼ cup sugar

• 1 Tbsp baking powder

• 1 tsp salt

• Zest from 1 orange or about 1Tbsp (reserve juice for icing)

• 4 Tbsp unsalted butter

• ¼ lb of fresh chevre about 8 Tbsp (or 8 Tbsp cream cheese)

• ¾ cup milk

• 1 egg plus 1 egg yolk (reserve egg white for egg wash)

• ½ cup dried cranberries

Optional Orange Icing

• Juice from orange about ¼ cup

• Powdered sugar

Instructions

Chevre Orange & Cranberry Scones

1. Preheat oven to 375°F

2. Combine orange zest with ¼ cup sugar. Use your fingers to rub the zest into the sugar thoroughly.

3. Combine flour, orange sugar, baking powder, and salt together in large bowl.

4. Cut the butter and chevre into the four mix using a pastry blender or a food processor until about pea sized.

5. Lightly beat the egg plus 1 yolk into the milk. Make a hole in your flour mix and add the egg and milk to the center all at once. (if using a food processor add the egg/milk all at once and pulse until just combined, don't over process) The dough that forms should be very lumpy.

6. Tip the dough over onto a lightly floured surface and knead the dough until mostly combined.

7. Flatten the dough out and sprinkle the cranberries over the surface. Fold the cranberries in until they are distributed throughout.

8. Shape your dough into a 6 inch circle about 1½ inches high and transfer to an 8 inch cast iron skillet or cookie sheet.

9. Cut the dough into 8 equal pieces, separating them just a little as you do.

10. Bake your scones at 375°F for about 25 to 30 minutes or until lightly golden.

Orange Icing

1. Add enough powdered sugar to the reserved orange juice to form an icing thin enough to drizzle over the scones.

2. A thinner icing will be more like a glaze that soaks in a bit a dries almost clear. A thicker icing will stay put after it's been drizzled drying into a more opaque white.

Serve these scones with your favorite cup of tea or coffee. If you bake up some Chevre Orange & Cranberry Scones of your own, let me know how they turned out.

Until then, sweet homesteading,

Katheryn Williams