Blood Orange Scones with Hazelnuts, Thyme and White Chocolate Drizzle | www.floatingkitchen.net

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?

Blood Orange Scones with Hazelnuts, Thyme and White Chocolate Drizzle | www.floatingkitchen.net

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 Orange Scones with Hazelnuts, Thyme and White Chocolate Drizzle | www.floatingkitchen.net

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

Blood Orange Scones with Hazelnuts, Thyme and White Chocolate Drizzle

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

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.

 

52 comments on “Blood Orange Scones with Hazelnuts, Thyme and White Chocolate Drizzle”

  1. WOW! Cake for breakfast and its so pretty too. The blood oranges look beautiful in these scones. I love blood oranges and I’ll have to find some here in MD!

  2. Can you believe that I’ve never had a blood orange? I definitely need to change that after seeing these cones. And cake for breakfast is the way to go! I love this creative flavor, especially with that white chocolate drizzle!

    • No I can’t believe it! You should search some out. The color is just to DIE FOR. Of course, you can also use any kind of citrus in these scones. It should work out great!

  3. I love scones! And blood oranges. And coffee. So I think a batch of these scones with my morning coffee is just what I need today 🙂

  4. They’re gorgeous! I haven’t baked with blood oranges in so long. The color makes these scones pop like boom. Plus, there’s white chocolate on top. And I will never pass up a chance to eat chocolate for breakfast.

  5. Heck yeah, Captain Brilliant! I love blood oranges and a zesty scone. I’m totally up for a cakey scone over a rock solid scone. The softer ones just go down soooo easily. Love these beauties!

  6. I can’t believe I’ve never had blood orange. These look fabulous!

  7. I absolutely love all of the flavors you’ve got going on in these scones, Liz! I need to get my paws on some blood oranges asap.

  8. I love blood oranges, and I’m so happy it’s blood orange season! These scones would make such a delicious treat for breakfast!

  9. Nothing beats cake for breakfast, especially with my favorite fruit. These look awesome!

  10. These scones are tuggin at my heart strings! <3

  11. Cake for breakfast is the best! Love the flavors in these scones, Liz! Blood oranges are so good right now and these scones are the perfect way to use them up! They look incredible!

  12. This looks so appetizing! Love what you did with the blood oranges too!

  13. Wow! Blood orange + hazelnuts + white chocolate?! Talk about a dream combination. Cake for breakfast every day! 🙂

  14. Adding blood orange to scones is brilliant! I love the flavor combo here! Also, I’m terrible at segmenting oranges too;)

  15. Hooray for having cake for breakfast! I love citrus in scones, but have never tried blood oranges. Sounds so good!

  16. I am A) terrible at segmenting oranges and B) obsessed with scones. Did you make these for me? 😉

  17. Blood orange and white chocolate sounds like a tasty combo Liz! I’ve been wanting to make scones…one day though when I’m done eating healthy 🙂

  18. I also HATE, hate, HATE segmenting oranges. I end up crushing them all but I’m so forceful with the knife. Anyway, these scones look beautiful! I imagine they’d be lovely with a cup of tea in the morning. 🙂

    • It’s so hard! I used to hate when I had to segment oranges at the restaurant I worked at for the salad plates. Because they never looked as pretty as you wanted them too. At least here, they get folded into the dough!

  19. Oh how I love blood oranges… and any excuse to eat cake for breakfast! Gorgeous recipe! I just discovered your blog (thanks Broma Bakery!) and look forward to following your culinary adventures… cheers!

  20. I saw these on your instagram. I was like “wow… Those nicely drizzled scones look absolutely stunning! I wish I can have some!” Love to try the orange, thyme and chocolate combo.

  21. I am all about cake for breakfast! Especially when in scone form, because you’re right. They’re just sophisticated and fancy. I have got to try these since I’ve never had blood orange before…pinned!

  22. Scones are like crack to me – I can never eat one! I may tweak your recipe a bit to make it more WW friendly (hello heavy cream!) I’ll let you know if I am successful!

    Happy Monday my friend!

  23. I’m with you Liz! I love the flavor combo of these. Curious to see how the thyme tastes!

  24. I’m with Biz… scones are like crack! I love that you’ve used thyme in these, Liz! And cream, always cream in scones. Now these are cake like and I have a feeling it has to do with the addition of hazelnut flour… i’ve noticed it makes cookies, and cakes more moist and adds such fabulous texture. These are a dream, Liz! xo

  25. Cake for breakfast yes! I am obsessed with all things blood orange so I am all over these babies. Looks so delicious!

  26. Cakes so delicious! I like the cake made from the Blood orange.

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