Mini Irish Soda Bread Scones

I've always been a fan of both Irish soda bread and pretty much anything in the scone family. Gail makes the most incredible mexican chocolate scones, and I had past success with the cranberry-orange variety last year.

A few weeks ago I picked up a container of dried currants with the intent on snacking on some and using a portion of them in some sort of soda bread or scone concoction. After dinner on Saturday night I whipped up this classic Irish Soda Bread recipe and made scones out of them. Though they looked troublesome as they went into the oven the final product was over 2 dozen mini scones that tasted great and were not too dry, but just dry enough that they go great with tea or coffee in the morning or as a late afternoon treat.

Another plus is that the recipe was pretty simple and start to finish took less then an hour.  The recipe comes from Stephanie's on Newbury which is known for the bread and offers up the recipe on a little card with the bread.

Irish Soda Bread/Mini Soda Bread Scones

via Stephanie's On Newbury

makes 1 loaf of bread or approximately 2 dozen mini scones

4 cups flour

1/4 lb butter

1/2 tbs baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg

1/2 cup buttermilk

1 cup currants

Preheat oven to 375 F. 

Place flour baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar into a blow. Incorporate butter into flour until mixture represents cornmeal. In a separate bowl add eggs to the buttermilk. Whisk thoroughly then add to the flour mixture. Mix until all liquid is absorbed but do not over mix. The dough should not be smooth. Shape dough into 1 egg loaf or for mini scones scoop 1 tbs of batter onto baking sheet. Score an X mark on the top of each loaf.  Bake soda bread for 1 hour. Baking mini scones for about 20 minutes.

Cranberry-Orange Scones

I've been working to improve my baking skills/repertoire recently. I feel the best way to do is practice! I did not make any bread this weekend because I was tied up making the Sufganiyot that I wrote about on Monday.

I did want some additional baking practice this weekend, but was looking for something that wouldn't be too time or resource consuming, so I made a batch of Cranberry-Orange Scones!

Cranberry-Orange Scones

makes 6-8 scones depending on how big or small you like your scones

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled

3 tablespoons sugar

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon finely grated orange zest

5 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

1/2 cup dried cranberries

2/3 cup buttermilk (plus 1 to 2 tablespoons more if necessary)

--Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment or waxed paper. In a large bowl, stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and orange zest.

--With a pastry blender or two knives, cut butter into flour mixture until it resembles coarse meal. Stir in dried cranberries.

--Make a well in the center of the mixture. Add buttermilk, and stir until just combined; do not overmix. Use a little more buttermilk if dough is too dry to work with.

--Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface; shape into an 8-inch round. Transfer to baking sheet. Cut circle into 8 wedges; space them 1/2 inch apart (to prevent sticking, dust knife with flour). Bake until golden, 18 to 20 minutes.

The scones were chewy with a little crunch on the bottom. The next time I make them I will cut the butter into slightly smaller pieces, but overall the results were extremely satisfying. Gail and I have been enjoying them for breakfast this week they go great with a nice warm cup of coffee or tea!

I will definitely make these again .