Orange Spiced Scones

These voluminous babies have a crisp edge, maple glaze glory, and a subtle orange tang inside the soft buttery center.

As my my blueberry lemon scone recipe says, "delicately crisp outer edge with a soft buttery inside is what every scone should taste like". And these babies are no exception. The perfectly sweet maple glaze pairs well with the orange zest and nodes of spice in the scone. All this explosion of flavor comes in one very possible bite size mini scone. I tried to keep the ingredients simple. For example, this recipe only uses cinnamon and nutmeg for spices. But if you have a premade spice powder or want to add ginger or cloves, then feel free to make it YOUR perfect. The maple glaze is also mega simple. At its core it is equal parts (in weight) maple syrup and powdered sugar. I added a couple of drops of vanilla and a dash of cinnamon for depth.

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Any tips?

Scale: I highly recommend one. Using a scale guarantees results.
Overmixing: Don't do it. Overmixing will give you a hard scone.
A note to texture: Achieve the delicately crisp outer edge and soft buttery inside by keeping all your ingredients COLD and DO NOT overmix.
A note to milk: I can't speak for non dairy milk alternatives. But, I have tried heavy cream with butter and heavy cream alone. These variations produce a more dense scone. I prefer a more soft and fluffy scone, with a greater rise, so I use whole milk. A home made 'buttermilk' yields better results than the store bought buttermilk.
A note to baking powder: make sure baking powder is fresh. This may seem obvious but opened baking powder that has been sitting in the pantry for 6 months is not fresh even if it hasn't reached the “expiration date”. Baking powder gradually loses its potency once it is opened. Baking powder helps baked goods rise. So, if you use old baking powder, your scones will be flat. Why skimp out on baking powder when you have already invested in the other ingredients?

Any Tools?

Your Hands and a grater for zesting. You can use a food processor to incorporate the butter to the flour. But, in my experience the scones loose that soft inside with the food processor. Avoid overmixing when using a food processor.

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