Whisk together the milk, egg and vanilla. Reserve a few teaspoons of the liquid to brush on top of the scones. This helps them brown nicely)
Add the liquid to the dry ingredients along with the raisins and stir in quickly with a wooden spoon until a soft dough forms. It should be a little sticky. Don’t over work the dough or your scones will get tough and not rise well.
Turn the dough out onto a well floured board or counter top.
Lightly sprinkle the top of the dough with flour and just using your hands, form the dough into a round about ¾ of an inch thick.
Using a 1½ inch biscuit cutter, cut out your scones and place them about 2 inches apart on a parchment lined baking sheet. (Alternatively, for larger scones, roll the dough into a 7-8 inch circle and cut into 6-8 wedges.)
Re-roll the scraps and cut out the rest of the scones. Brush the tops of all the scones with the reserved milk and egg liquid.
Pop the scones into the hot oven for about 12-15 minutes (15-20 minutes for large scones) or until the tops of the scones are evenly browned. Cool on a wire rack. Top with orange glaze.
To prepare the glaze
Simply whisk the ingredients together until smooth. You want a thick glaze that can be spread on with a knife or small spatula. Add a little more icing sugar if the glaze is too thin.
Spread on the scones and leave the glaze to set for about 20 minutes before serving.
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