Friday, November 22, 2013

Skinny-licious Cranberry Orange Scones!

HaPpY FrIdAy!!!


Today I will be sharing with you the second"Teresa Original" recipe! Yay! And wait for it........it's a SKINNY RECIPE! I think these are perfect for this time of year; they embody some great fall/winter flavors and they won't completely interfere with healthy eating. I don't know about you, but I'm trying to save the sweets until Thanksgiving. You just enjoy things more when you don't always have them! These scones have little sugar and I cut out half of the butter. Most scones have one or more sticks of butter in the recipe- Yikes!  But I promise, cutting out the fat definitely does not sacrifice any flavor or texture. In my opinion, I actually like these better than some full fat scones I've had. I hate nothing more than biting into a scone to find out that it's hard, dry, and crumbly. Definitely not worth the calories. In this recipe, I replaced half of the butter with full-fat cream cheese. I have not tested this recipe with low-fat cream cheese, so I do not know if using that will allow for the same soft texture. I also added in some fat-free ricotta which made these scones light and moist, not brick-like. After all, ricotta is what makes my gnocchi so light and fluffy ;). 


Don't these look delish?!

See those bright little gems inside them? They're cranberries! And if you look close enough, you can see tiny orange flecks from orange zest! I love the combination of orange and cranberry; it's so refreshing and sweet. The sweet orange zest is the perfect compliment to the tart cranberries. Along with having a great flavor and awesome texture, these scones are very easy to make! First you begin by combining your dry ingredients in your a large bowl: flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and the cranberries. Next, you grate your butter into the flour mixture. In order to grate the butter easily, I suggest sticking it in the freezer while you measure your dry ingredients. 


It's Mount Saint BUTTER! :D

After grating in your butter, add in your cream cheese. Now here's the fun part: combine the flour, butter, and cream cheese mixtures with your hands! Rub the flour, butter and cream cheese mixture together with your fingertips, just until everything is combined and the mixture is crumbly. In another bowl, whisk together your egg, ricotta, and orange zest. Add the wet ingredients to the dry, and again combine both mixtures together with your hands(fun, right?!). Once everything is well blended, form the dough into a ball and place it on a cookie sheet lined with a silicon mat or parchment paper. Gently pat the ball down so it forms a circle, about 3/4 in. high. Stick it in the oven, and viola! You've made your scones! However, when they came out of the oven, I thought they looked a bit bare; they needed an accessory. That is when the Cinnamon Vanilla Glaze comes into play! The cinnamon works great with the cranberry and orange. Just whisk it all up and drizzle it on your gorgeous scones! 



Enjoy! 

Love
Teresa 

Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour 
1/3 cup sugar 
1 tsp. baking powder 
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt 
1/4 cup unsalted butter 
4 tbsp.  full-fat cream cheese 
3/4 cup fresh cranberries 
1/2 cup fat-free ricotta 
1 egg, preferably room temperature 
1 tsp orange zest 
1/2 cup powdered sugar 
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. vanilla 
2 tsp. milk(any kind will be fine) 

Yields: 8 scones 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicon baking mat. Put your butter in the freezer. 

In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, sugar, and cranberries. Remove butter from the freezer and grate it into the bowl. Add in your cream cheese. 

Using your fingertips, rub the butter, cream cheese, and flour mixture together until it looks crumbly and there are no big clumps of butter and cream cheese. 

In a separate, small bowl, whisk together the egg, ricotta, and orange zest. Add this mixture into the butter/flour mixture. Combine both mixtures with your hands just until they are completely blended. 

Form the dough into a ball, and place it on the baking sheet. Gently flatten the ball into a circle that's about 3/4 inches high. Cut the circle into 8 triangles, but don't separate them. Bake the scones for 15-18 minutes or until the top is slightly golden and and a toothpick inserted in them comes out cleans. Once removed from the oven, separate the triangles and transfer them to a cooling rack. 

To make the glaze, whisk the powdered sugar, vanilla, milk, and cinnamon together in a small bowl. Drizzle the glaze on the scones with a spoon or fork. 

Recipe From: Sweet Dreams and Sprinkles
*Please do not take this recipe or photos from my blog and use them as your own. If you do wish to post my recipe on your blog, please ask for permission by emailing me. Thank you. 








3 comments:

  1. I plan on trying these yummy-looking treats over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. Look amazing!

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