Blood Orange & Poppy Seed Scones

January and February I eat and bake with blood oranges.
I love that pink icing and the thrill of cutting into these beauties.

Soon, it will be rhubarb season, but for now, I am happy for these specialty citrus.

Here, I made delicious light and fluffy scones with poppy seeds and pink icing.

I freeze them the day I bake them (they go stale rather quickly), so I can take one out of the freezer the night before to have it fresh for breakfast the next morning.

Blood Orange Poppy Seed Scones:

2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup cold butter (one stick), cut into chunks
3/4 cup plain yogurt, thinned w/ milk
1 tbsp poppy seeds
1 large egg
1/2 tsp almond or vanilla extract
zest of a blood orange
extra milk or cream, for brushing (optional)
coarse sugar, for sprinkling

Blood Orange Glaze:
1 cup icing sugar (confectioner's sugar)
1 tbsp. milk or cream
1 tsp or more of blood orange juice
poppy seeds for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 400F.

In a bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, orange zest, baking soda and salt. Add the butter and blend it with a fork, whisk, pastry blender or your fingers, leaving some lumps no bigger than a pea.

In a small bowl, stir the yogurt, almond extract, and egg together with a fork. Add to the flour mixture and stir just until combined.
Pat the dough out about an inch thick circle on a parchment-lined sheet and cut into rounds or pie wedges; brush with milk or cream and/or sprinkle with sugar.

Bake for about 20 minutes, or until golden.

*During the last 5 minutes of baking, open the oven, and run a sharp knife into the cuts you previously made to separate the slices, or they will fuse together!
Put back in the oven for the last 5 minutes of baking.

To make the glaze, whisk together the icing sugar, cream and blood orange juice, a little at a time, until you achieve the consistency you like; drizzle it over the scones while they’re still warm and sprinkle with some extra poppy seeds.

Makes about 8 scones.