February 20, 2017

Blood Orange Scones with Hazelnuts, Thyme and White Chocolate Drizzle

This post was originally published here on January 14, 2015. I’ve since updated the photos and text to showcase just how delicious these scones really are! Enjoy!

I’ve discovered a socially acceptable way to enjoy cake for breakfast. It’s called “Blood Orange Scones with Hazelnuts, Thyme and White Chocolate Drizzle”.

Are you with me? I’m guessing you are. Because we’re all friends here. And friends encourage friends to eat cake disguised as sophisticated scones before noontime. Right?

I’m still on a big Winter citrus kick right now. And I’m particularly crushing on blood oranges. I mean, their color alone is enough to make any girl swoon. If they weren’t so delicious, I could probably just stare at them all day long.

So I decided to try and incorporate them into this cream scone recipe that I’ve been using for a while now. I was a little worried that I would just end up with a gummy, shaggy mess because of all the juices from the blood oranges. But (thankfully!) that didn’t happen. Instead, I found myself in possession of the most moist (had to say it!), cake-like scones I’ve ever eaten. There isn’t anything dry and crumbly about these babies!

Can we talk about segmenting oranges for a second? I hate it. Probably because I’m not very good at it. And I don’t like doing things that I’m not very good at. Sorry. I’m a brat.

If you’re a master at segmenting oranges, then I applaud you (also teach me your ways!). But you really don’t have to be for this recipe. Because you actually want to break down the segments even further so they are about 1/2-inch in size or smaller before attempting to fold them into the dough. This helps the orange pieces spread out more evenly throughout the dough, while preventing too many juices from accumulating in one place.

Blood oranges can typically be found until March (although sometimes longer if you’re lucky!). So don’t delay too long on picking some up from your grocery store. Because I know you’re not going to want to wait until next year to try baking up these scones!

Cheers,

Liz

Get the Recipe:

Blood Orange Scones with Hazelnuts, Thyme and White Chocolate Drizzle

At a Glance:

Yield: Makes 8 scones

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

Print

Ingredients

For the Scones:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup hazelnut flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 cup (8 tablespoons) cold butter, cut into pieces
• 2/3 cusp, plus 1 tablespoon, heavy whipping cream, divided
• 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
• 1 tablespoon blood orange zest
• 1/2 cup blood orange segments, broken down into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1/3 cup hazelnuts, chopped

For the White Chocolate Drizzle:

• 4 ounces white chocolate, chopped
• 1 tsp. coconut oil

Instructions

1. Pre-heat your oven to 425 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and set it aside.
2. In the bowl of your food processor with the blade attachment, combine the flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the cold butter and pulse until you have a coarse crumb.
3. In a small bowl, beat together 2/3 cups of the heavy cream with the vanilla extract and egg. Add this liquid mixture to your food processor along with the thyme and blood orange zest. Pulse until the dough has just come together.
4. Turn the dough out onto a well floured counter top and use your hands (flouring them will make the dough easier to handle) to fold in the blood orange segments and the hazelnuts, being careful not to over work the dough. The dough will be slightly wet.
5. Continue using your hands to shape the dough into a round disk. Then cut the disk it into eight wedges. Transfer the wedges to your prepared baking sheet, leaving 1-2 inches between them. Brush the tops of the wedges with the remaining tablespoon of heavy cream. Transfer the baking sheet to your pre-heated oven and bake the scones for 13-15 minutes. They should be golden brown around the edges. Remove the scones from the oven and allow them to cool on their baking sheet for 10-15 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to continue cooling.
6. Once the scones have cooled, make the white chocolate drizzle. In a small heavy bottom saucepan (or in a double boiler) set over medium heat, melt the white chocolate with the coconut oil, stirring frequently. Once smooth, drizzle the melted white chocolate over the scones.
7. These scones are best when eaten the day they are made, but they will keep for 1-2 days in an airtight container at room temperature. Allow the white chocolate to set before transferring them to a storage container.

Notes

You can make your own hazelnut flour by grinding hazelnuts to a course meal in your food processor. You can also substitute almond flour for the hazelnut flour.