Barefoot contessa scones

If you want to make a mess in your house pull out a scone recipe. I think I was wearing the same amount of flour on my shirt as I had on my countertops. I probably should have taken that picture instead of the final product!

Despite the mess, the work is worth it once you take your first bite. It is a tried-and-true Ina Garten recipe for orange and cranberry scones. I tend to pull ingredients as I need them, but this recipe benefits from mise en place so you can move from each step to the next quickly. You start by mixing the dry ingredients of flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and orange zest. Once they are incorporated, you add three sticks of diced unsalted butter followed by the eggs and cream. The final step is adding a little more flour and dried cranberries. The messy fun begins once you pull the dough out of the bowl for a quick knead, roll out, and cutting. Before putting them in the oven, you give each scone an egg wash and a sprinkle of sugar.

The result is the perfect scone. You can serve it with a glaze topping made of orange juice and confectioner’s sugar or just pull out your favorite jam and butter. You can make up to twenty four scones, so I tend to freeze the extra for future breakfast treats.