Dessert for breakfast (part 2)
Cranberry orange scones and Thanksgiving morning pie
My favorite morning routine this time of year is to sit quietly by the fireplace and enjoy a cup of coffee and a warm scone in all its buttery gloriousness. Pretty close to perfection. This is how I plan to start my Thanksgiving day. I’ll take my time and look leisurely through the lists I’ve made and figure out my prep and oven schedule for the day. When everyone else wanders down the stairs, they can help themselves to coffee and cranberry orange scones, yogurt and homemade granola studded with dried cranberries, or dare I say, pumpkin pie!
The perfect Thanksgiving day (or day after) breakfast is cold pumpkin pie with whipped cream and a cup of coffee.
Thanksgiving pie always makes me think about a coworker of mine from my Motorola days waaaay back. Her family’s tradition was to start the day with dessert. Pumpkin pie with whipped cream, fruit pies, pecan pies, you name it. Then in the afternoon they would feast on turkey and all the trimmings with time left to indulge in more pie. I always thought this was genius. After all, with a big family comes a variety of desserts to choose from and how are you supposed to taste them all? At least that’s the way I’ve grown up. One dessert on Thanksgiving is clearly not enough. But the downfall with so many options is that it’s often difficult to really enjoy your pie the way it was meant. My perfect piece of pumpkin pie is enjoyed cold – straight from the fridge the next morning with a generous amount of real whipped cream. Dessert for breakfast at its finest.
However, for Thanksgiving morning itself, and really any cold rainy day when you want to have a drawn-out lazy morning, my first choice is scones. Scones are typically only slightly sweet but still give you that dessert satisfaction. And my favorite scones – and the one that says Thanksgiving to me – are the Barefoot Contessa Cranberry Orange Scones.
My favorite scones for Thanksgiving are a cranberry-orange variety.
Baking scones may sound intimidating but it’s quite simple if you remember the number one rule: It’s all about the butter. COLD butter. You may be shocked at how much butter most scone recipes have. Julia Child said: “If you’re afraid of butter, use cream.” Well, this recipe has both. Need I say more? Butter is what gives a scone its delicate and flaky texture.
What you need to know about the butter
Use top quality unsalted butter. Keep the butter and cream as cold as possible. This will keep the scones from spreading. Options for cutting in the butter include freezing the butter and grating it into the dough; using a pastry blender (never owned one); and – the method I like – using an electric (KitchenAid) mixer fitted with a paddle attachment to mix in the butter. My method calls for putting the butter in the freezer for about 15 minutes prior to cutting it. Take out one stick at a time (this recipe uses 3 cubes of butta) and cut into cubes. As you cut each stick, put it back into a bowl placed in the freezer. You’d be surprised at how fast butter warms up as it’s handled.
Once it’s all cut, let the bowl sit in the freezer for about five minutes before adding to the mixer. Barefoot Contessa says to mix at low speed until the butter is the size of peas. I start out this way but always end up putting on food prep gloves and mixing the dough with my fingers to get the last big chunks mixed in. Note that you still want to see some chunks of butter in your scones. The butter melts as the scones bake, which releases steam and creates air pockets that result in a flaky center while the outside of the scone is crisp and crumbly.
More tips
Large eggs are just fine as a substitute for the XL eggs called for in the recipe.
One large orange is needed to yield enough zest.
Don’t replace the heavy cream (which contains 36% milk fat) with milk or half and half. Cream gives you the best flavor.
Don’t overmix. Mix just until the dough comes together. You’ll have some flour left in the bowl. Go ahead and dump it out onto a floured surface and knead a few times, shaping the dough into a circle about ¾” high.
I like to pat into a circle and then cut the dough into wedges or triangles. But feel free to use a biscuit cutter or cut them into squares.
Egg wash gives the scones a nice golden color.
I use raw sugar for the top or demerara sugar is nice, but no need to buy special sugar.
Give your scones breathing room. I have a large baking sheet (that I top with parchment paper) that fills my entire oven and works well for this recipe. You don’t want them to touch or they will end up with soft sides and the outside won’t be as crispy/crunchy as they should.
Once you’ve shaped the scones on the baking sheet, put the pan in the fridge or freezer for 10-15 minutes.
Don’t overbake. Check at 20 minutes. Turn pan halfway through. They should be golden in color and a toothpick will come out clean.
The recipe for the glaze could be thicker in my opinion. That way it won’t run off the slightly warm scones.
How you cool and store scones affects the texture. I cool mine uncovered and place under a glass dome (so not airtight) for storage. If they are covered tightly, some recipes more than others tend to get soggy or sticky. I’ve found that these cranberry orange ones stay pretty fresh. But in any case, after the first day, I like to pop them in the toaster oven at 400 degrees for 3-4 minutes to crisp up the outsides.
Cranberry orange scones have become a tradition that we enjoy in our home throughout the Thanksgiving weekend. (Besides, I like those ocean spray bits in my scones way more than in a sauce or relish.) The other reason I like scones so much is that you can make them ahead of time. It’s possible to prepare your baking sheet with the scones and put in fridge overnight, pop out and bake in the morning. I prefer actually to bake my scones in advance and then freeze them in Ziploc bags without the icing. When you’re ready to eat them, take out of the freezer and let defrost about 30 minutes. Then bake for only 5-7 minutes (make sure they don’t get too brown) at 375 degrees. Cool slightly and drizzle with icing.
Whether you have scones, pumpkin pie or this Eleven Madison Park granola with cranberries (pictured below and still my favorite homemade granola) on Thanksgiving morning, take time to reflect on the day and what a year it has been.
My favorite homemade granola is the recipe from Eleven Madison Park restaurant in New York.
My kids will be home for the holiday and my plan is to toast the day with a sip of Mamamango Mango Moscato. It’s a refreshing mix of Moscato wine and mango puree. I’m picturing champagne glasses with cubes of frozen mango and sugared cranberries for a spin on mimosas. We will kick off the holiday season with a moment of reflection on what we have been and are grateful for during this year … a year that has been full of upheaval and one that makes us realize it’s more important than ever to appreciate the little things in life … like dessert.