Cranberry Orange Scones

Cranberry and orange are a classic flavor combination and they shine in these Cranberry Orange Scones. These buttery, flaky fruit scones have a soft orange flavor with pops of fresh, tart cranberry. Serve them hot from the oven or dip them into an irresistible confectioners glaze for a holiday celebration.

Scones are sweetened biscuits made with flour, sugar, leavener and fat, usually butter. Scone recipes vary, but my favorite ones include cream cheese, milk and egg to make a plush dough that is easily customized using whatever mix-ins you have.

These Blueberry Cream Cheese Scones are a favorite for Mother’s Day brunch, Peach Scones are a summertime favorite, and Cherry Scones use dried fruit for pops of chewy, sweet-tart deliciousness.

These cranberry orange scones are infused with bright citrus flavor and pops of fresh cranberries, which give them a holiday vibe that’s perfect for Christmas and New Years.

Why this recipe works:

• It uses everyday ingredients.
• The scone dough is mixed in one bowl and doesn’t need a lot of handling.
• You can form the orange cranberry scones into traditional triangular wedges or use a biscuit cutter.
• They can be made ahead and freeze well.
• Great plain or with glaze.

Ingredients:

• Flour – I use unbleached all-purpose flour from King Arthur’s.
• Granulated Sugar – adds a light sweetness to the cranberry scones.
• Baking Powder – helps the scone dough rise.
• Salt – a bit will give a fuller flavor to the sweet scones, so don’t skip it; use iodized salt for baking.
• Cream Cheese – adds richness and a slightly tangy flavor to the fruit scones.
• Butter – very cold butter cut into the dry ingredients creates flaky layers when the cranberry orange scones are baked.
• Egg – adds richness and creates a tender, light crumb.
• Whole Milk – Using milk instead of water gives the scones a light brown color. If you want a richer dough, you can use half and half .
• Vanilla Extract – lends more flavor to the cranberry orange scones.
• Fresh Cranberries – roughly chopped so you get a little fruit in every bite.
• Orange Zest – use a microplane grater to use only the fragrant zest without the bitter white pith.

Most of the time, I have everything I need to whip up a batch of these beauties (and I’ll bet you do as well) – it’s just a matter of what to flavor them with.  In this case, cranberries and orange.

Making fruit scones is really easy, when you follow these simple steps:

How to make homemade scones

1. Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large mixing bowl.
2. Add the cold butter and cream cheese to the dry ingredients and use a pastry blender to cut the fat into the flour until it forms pea-sized coarse crumbs.
3. Add the chopped cranberries and orange zest and toss until the ingredients are evenly combined.
4. In a glass measuring cup, measure the milk, add the egg and vanilla and whisk together. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir until a shaggy dough forms.
5. Lightly flour a work surface and turn the dough out onto it.
6. Pat the dough into a rectangle measuring about ¾” thick.
7. Cut out the fruit scones with a biscuit cutter. Do not twist the cutter when you’re forming the scones as it will impede the rise.
8. Brush with milk or heavy cream and bake for about 8 minutes.
9. Turn off the oven, but leave the cranberry scones inside to continue baking until lightly golden brown, about 8-10 minutes longer.

For the scones to achieve their lift, they need a hot oven, but too hot for too long will make them too brown and dry them out.

The solution is to bake them for 8 minutes with the oven set at 425° and then turn the oven OFF to let them bake an additional 8-10 minutes or until they’re lightly brown and done.

Brushing the tops of the scones before baking with a bit of milk will also help them brown.

If you’re not planning to glaze your cranberry orange scones, dust them with sparkling sugar. They’ll be ready to eat as soon as they’re done baking.

ProTips:

• Don’t overwork the dough. You can see in the photo below that I didn’t fuss to form a perfectly smooth ball. I just turned the dough enough to incorporate all of the dry ingredients into one semi-round, slightly rough blob. (Blob is a technical baking term).
• Gently pat the dough to ¾” thick – I always use a ruler to be sure.
• Set the biscuit cutter on the cranberry orange scone dough and press straight down (no twisting). You may hear the pop or snap of fresh cranberries when you’re cutting them into rounds. That’s fine.

Variations:

• Make lemon cranberry scones using the zest of two lemons instead of orange. Or use Meyer lemon zest for a softer citrus flavor.
• Instead of plain glaze, make an orange glaze swapping orange juice for the milk and adding a teaspoon of zest.
• Swap cranberries for other berries like raspberries, blueberries or halved blackberries.

Glazing the scones:

1. Dunk them head first into the glaze, making sure to cover the whole top.
2. Transfer the scones to a wire rack.
3. Sprinkle with decorating sugar while the glaze is still tacky.
4. You can enjoy them immediately, but if you’re storing them, let the glaze dry before arranging the orange cranberry scones in a storage container.

I love this cranberry orange scones recipe because it comes together quickly (in about half an hour) and bakes even faster. You can also make the scones ahead.

Storage:

Store cranberry orange scones in an airtight container for up to 2 days at room temperature. If you’re stacking them in the storage container, separate the layers with parchment or wax paper.

Freezing:

Cranberry scones freeze well, however, I do recommend not glazing the scones if you plan on freezing them. Place cooled orange scones on a sheet pan lined with parchment and freeze solid, then transfer them to a zip-top freezer bag and store in the freezer for up to 2 months.

Defrost to enjoy. (You can also glaze the defrosted scones before serving).

Pin “Cranberry Orange Scones” for later!