Preheat oven to 425° degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silpats.
Add the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt to a large bowl and whisk together.
Add the cold chunks of butter and cream cheese to the flour mixture and use a pastry cutter to cut them into the dry ingredients until it resembles coarse cornmeal with pebbles.
Add the orange zest and chopped cranberries. Toss until evenly combined with the dry ingredients.
In another bowl, whisk together the egg, vanilla and milk and add it to the flour mixture. Stir the wet and dry ingredients together until it starts to form a dough.
Transfer the scone dough to a lightly floured work space. Gently, pat the dough into a 3/4" thick rectangle.
Use the biscuit cutter to cut the scones by resting the cutter on top of the dough and pressing straight down. DO NOT TWIST THE CUTTER (it will prevent the scones from rising).
Transfer the scones to the prepared baking sheet. Gather up the scraps of dough and pat them into another rectangle that's ¾" thick. Continue to cut scones until all the dough is used.
Use a pastry brush to lightly brush the scones with milk. If you're not glazing the scones, sprinkle them with sparkling sugar.
Place the scones in the center of the oven and bake for 8 minutes. TURN THE OVEN OFF and continue to bake for 8-10 more or until the scones are lightly golden brown. Remove from the oven and let cool for 5-10 minutes.
MAKE THE GLAZE:
While the scones are baking, make the glaze by adding the powdered sugar, lemon juice, melted butter and milk to a bowl and mixing until smooth. Set aside.
GLAZE THE SCONES
Pick up a scone and dip the top of the biscuit into the glaze to coat. Transfer to a cooling rack. Continue in this method with each of the scones. Sprinkle them with sparkling sugar while the glaze is still tacky. Can be served warm or let the glaze dry completely and store in an airtight container or freeze until you need them.
TO REWARM SCONES:
These scones are great the next day. To rewarm them, preheat the oven to 300°. Place the scones on a baking sheet and heat for 6-8 minutes or until warmed through. Note: if you've frozen the scones, defrost them completely before reheating.
Notes
This recipe can be tweaked according to your tastes. When I made it, I wanted to taste the lemon and tartness of the cranberries. It was delicious, but definitely tart. If you prefer a little sweeter scone, swap dried cranberries for the fresh and/or increase the sugar in the dough to 3/4 cup. Keep in mind that dried cranberries will be nice and chewy in your scone and the fresh ones will pop when they cook and create a jammy little pocket in the dough. Either way is good!