Christmas is a time for warming flavours, seasonal spices and all things tasty and indulgent. Almond, orange and cranberries in our Christmas scone create those flavours synonymous with the most wonderful time of the year and will see you through those afternoons of present wrapping.

Makes 6 (enourmous) scones

You will need:

Scone cutter
Mixing bowl
Metal spoon

Ingredients

Almond essence	30 ml
Butter	200g
Caster sugar	100g
Cranberries	150g
Demerara sugar	20g
Flaked almonds	30g
Ground cinnamon	4g
Whole milk	525ml
Orange	zest
Self raising flour	900g

Method

1. Place the flour and cubes of cold butter into a bowl. Using your fingers, rub together until it resembles breadcrumbs.
2. Add the caster sugard, cinnamon, cranberries, orange zest and mix together
3. Keep aside 25ml of milk to glaze, and add remaining milk and almond essence to the mix
4. Mix gently using a metal spoon until the mix has come together, then use your hands for the last bit to bring the dough together. Don’t overwork the dough, or your scones will be rubbish!
5. Flour a clean surface, and use your hands to flatten the dough to the same thickness as your cutter (4cm is ideal) Cut out using your rinks and place on a lined baking tray.
6. Glaze with remaining milk, and sprinkle over the flaked almonds and demerara sugar.
7. Cook at 200c for 15-20 minutes until golden brown and golden on the bottom. Tap the bottom, they should sound hollow if cooked.
8. Once cooled, dust with icing sugar.

We love them served up with a pot of tea and lashings of jam and cream – but which comes first? Let us know and show us your scones over on instagram or twitter.