Remember these and how I said it was my proudest moment in the kitchen. Well that lasted about a month and a half because these bad boys now claim that title.
After this pancake Sunday recipe, I still had about a cup of arils leftover. You didn’t think I actually went through the hell that is pomegranate aril extraction again did you? They sat in the fridge for a few days until inspiration struck. And it was completely random inspiration. It’s even documented on twitter:
I think I saw someone combine cranberries and orange in something and thought, why not pomegranate?
I actually had too much work to make these at lunch that day but when I was still thinking about them at 11pm in bed that night (seriously, these are the things I think about. I’m not sure if that’s dedication or just pathetic?) I knew they needed to happen the next day.
So they did.
I used the pumpkin chocolate chip scone recipe as a basis but kind of just winged it with the new flavor combination.
They turned out so incredibly flavorful. Orange zest should pretty much go in everything because it’s that amazing. They reminded me of the flavor of orange blossom muffins. I really hope you know what I’m talking about when I say that because they are hands down the best muffin ever. I’ve only ever had them from grocery stores so I’m sure they’re chock full of corn syrup and a million other not so lovely ingredients but their flavor is awesome. These are like the “real” version of that flavor profile.
Of course I had to taste one straight out of the oven. One bite in (you can actually see the bite taken in the picture) and I picked up the phone to text Ulysses.
Seriously. Amazing.
They’re crispy on the outside, moist on the inside, the pomegranates pop with tartness in your mouth and the orange makes them smell like Christmas. Is it weird to associate citrus with Christmas? Whatever, just go with it.
What is weird though is that I can’t look at the above picture without thinking about PowerPoint pie graphs. Work has ruined me.
I also can’t look at this picture without wishing they weren’t all gone.
- 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- ½ stick cold butter, cubed
- ⅓ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ cup buttermilk
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- zest of one large orange (about ½ tablespoon)
- 1 cup pomegranate arils
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silpat.
- Combine flours, butter, sugar, salt, baking powder and baking sugar in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed until mixture is the size of peas and butter is thoroughly incorporated.
- In a small bowl whisk together all remaining ingredients except pomegranate arils. Pour wet ingredients into stand mixer and mix together on medium speed until incorporated and almost forming a ball of dough. Fold in pomegranate arils carefully.
- Turn dough out onto a floured surface and knead a few times to create a ball. Place ball of dough on lined baking sheet and form into a circle about ½ an inch thick. With a knife, slice into 8 triangles but do not cut fully through the dough.
- Bake for 18-20 minutes unil just golden on top. Let cool for a few minutes before carefully pulling apart slices. Best served warm.
{ 21 comments… read them below or add one }
They are beautiful – what a great color and flavor combination.
I have been enjoying citrus flavors in baking, too. These sound so good, and I can’t help but wonder what an orange zest and chocolate chip combo might be like? Sounds pretty tasty, I think!
I cannot wait to try these! Now I’m going to be the one dreaming about them
Not weird at all to associate citrus with Christmas- I love cloves stuck in oranges as decoration and good smells
Also, these look delish!!
Finally! Took you long enough to post this
Yum!!! Pomegranates are my favorite – I need to go to Aldi and stock up
I’ll be right over.
I make a pomegranate orange sticky bun you’d probably groove on. Also, what recipe plugin are you using? I am loving it.
It’s Easy Recipe, but I literally just deactivated it because I noticed a few issues:
1. It’s interfering with my shareaholic buttons (when I deactivate easy recipe they show up, when it’s activated, they don’t)
2. the print feature isn’t working
3. it’s giving me some jquery (no idea what the heck that is) error.
So until I figure all that out, it’s turned off for now!
And yes, I would totally “groove” on those buns!
fantastic. danke! The sticky buns are minis for my thirty batches. They’ll either be up tomorrow or the next day for my 30 batches.
Orange and chocolate chip would be great. As children at Christmas, we would get a
Droste (brand name) foil covered orange shaped and orange flavored chocolate treat in our stockings every year. Yummy Orange works well with lots of other flavors
I LOVE baking with pomegranate arils!! I love the way they burst in your mouth
yum these look great and pretty pics!
i saw a tweet from you last night and was going to direct msg you…linking back/re-writing…details please
I could go on and on with those…..
I’m not sure why scones intimidate me so much – I’ve always been too terrified to attempt to make them. Though I’ve always loved to eat them. But this recipe doesn’t seem too overwhelming – I think even I can handle it.
I’ll let you know how they turn out!
Don’t be intimidated! I was the exact same way before making the pumpkin choc. chip ones last month. They’re super easy, I promise
Want.
Tastiest pie graph I have ever seen.
These almost look too pretty to eat….almost!
Mmm, I love scones!
What a wonderful flavor combo. Can’t wait to try these out.
Scones? Really? Really? Please mail some to me next time.
I can’t WAIT till pomegranates are back in season and I can make these – awesome combo!!
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