Orange-Almond Scones

Orange-Almond Scones

½ cup fresh orange juice
¼ cup buttermilk, yogurt or milk
1 large egg
¼ tsp. almond extract
3 cups flour
4 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. salt
8 Tablespoons unsalted butter
½ cup sugar
½ cup chopped, blanched almonds
1 Tablespoon orange peel

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Grate peel before juicing the orange. Measure juice, then buttermilk in a 2 cup glass measure. Add egg and extract; beat until smooth with a fork. Put flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl. Stir to mix well. Add butter and cut in with a pastry blender or rub in with your fingers until mixture looks like fine granules. Add sugar, almonds and orange peel. Toss to distribute evenly. Add the egg mixture and stir with a fork until a soft dough forms. Turn out the dough on a lightly floured board and give 5-6 kneads, just until well mixed. Form the dough into a ball, cut into 8 wedges and form each wedge into a ball. Place on ungreased cookie sheet and bake about 25 minutes or until medium brown. Cool on a wire wrack.

Note: I didn’t use almond extract (I didn’t have any!) or almonds. I added dried cranberries instead.
submitted by: Ellen Patton