Orange cardamom scones with orange glaze

I'm always eager to be finished with a long work week to finally be able to have time to do a little bit of weekend baking. I haven't made a scone in many moons, and I liked the look of this flavour combination.

Recipe

adapted from Pinch Me I'm Eating
2 cups flour
⅓ cup sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
1 tbsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
½ cup heavy cream, plus extra for brushing the tops
1 egg
¾ tsp vanilla extract
½ cup cold unsalted butter, diced
½ tsp ground cardamom
zest from 1 large orange

For the glaze
½ cup powdered sugar
½ tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp cream
1 tbsp juice from an orange

Preheat oven to 400 F. Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cardamom, and orange zest in the bowl of a food processor. Add cold butter cubes and pulse until mixture resembles wet stand. Beat egg, cream, and vanilla extract in a separate bowl. Pour into food processor bowl and pulse with flour mixture until just combined.

Pat mixture into a ball and shape into a 7" square. Cut into a 9-square grid, then cut each square diagonally to make 18 triangle-shaped mini scones. Arrange on a parchment-covered baking sheet. Brush tops of scones with cream and sprinkle with sugar liberally. Bake for 12-17 minutes, or until you can see golden brown around the bottoms of the scones.

Icing
Mix the icing ingredients in a small bowl until smooth. While scones are still warm from the oven, dip the tops each into the icing. Let excess icing drip off before putting right side up on a wire rack. Let dry completely before storing in an airtight container.

Musings

These were absolutely delightful! Like all scones, easy to make, and these turned out to have a lovely, delicate flavour. The sweetness of the orange glaze (though not overly sweet) make these almost dessert-like. I did leave a few scones unglazed to try, and they were also delicious--so a good option if you'd prefer a more savoury scone.