Cranberry Orange Scones Recipe (2024)

Cranberry Orange Scones make a quick and easy scone recipe perfect for breakfast or brunch. A delicious combination of sweet and tart!

Cranberry Orange Scones Recipe (1)

I love the combination of fresh, tart cranberriesmixed with the brightness of oranges. It is a combination I’ve turned to time and again in cranberry orange muffins and even my cranberry orange rolls. The flavor combination definitely doesn’t disappoint in this cranberry orange scones recipe either. It makes for the perfect combination for anytime of year, but especially throughout the fall and winter when fresh cranberries are readily available and oranges are at their peak.

I love themso much that I actually buy fresh cranberries now while they are in season and store them in my freezer so that I can use them anytime of the year for these scones and in other recipes.

How to Make Cranberry Orange Scones

  • flour
  • sugar + more for topping
  • baking powder
  • salt
  • butter
  • cranberries
  • heavy cream
  • orange juice
  • orange zest

Orange Glaze:

  • confectioner’s sugar
  • orange juice
  • orange zest

Step by Step Instructions

  • Prep. Preheat oven to 400º F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking sheet.
  • Make Dough. Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Add butter to the bowl and cut into the flour with a pastry blender until the largest pieces of butter are about the size of a pea and the flour mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in cranberries, 3/4 cup of heavy cream, orange juice, and orange zest. Press dough together between the palms of your hands. If it doesn’t just hold together, add more heavy cream until is just holds together.
  • For the Dough. Pour dough onto a lightly floured countertop or a pastry board. Pat dough into a large round disc, about an inch thick. Cut dough into equal sized wedges and place onto prepared baking sheet. Melt about 2 tablespoons butter and brush on top of dough.
  • Bake. Bake scones for 20-25 minutes or until they are just beginning to turn lightly brown. Remove from the oven.
  • Make the Glaze. Whisk all of the glaze ingredients together in a medium sized bowl until smooth and then drizzle on top of each scone after it has cooled for about five minutes.

Can You Use Dried Cranberries in Cranberry Orange Scones?

Yes! I love to use fresh cranberries in these scones, but if for some reason I don’t have them available, dried cranberries work well, too.

What If You Don’t Have Orange Zest?

To make my cranberry orange scones, I included both orange zest as well as juice in the scone as well as in the glaze to really bring out the orange scent and flavor in these scones. You can adjust the amount to suit your preference by backing off the zest in the glaze if you like, but I can’t even begin to tell you how much I love all that citrusy deliciousness in these!

You can omit it from this recipe if you don’t have it available. The orange flavor will not be as pronounced, but the scones will still be delicious!

How Long Do Cranberry Orange Scones Last?

Store on the counter for up to 3 days or in the refrigerator for up to 5.

Can You Freeze These Scones?

Yes! Allow to cool completely and then store in an airtight, freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. To serve, allow to thaw and then serve at room temperature or warm in the microwave or in the oven at 350º F for about 5 minutes.

Other Favorite Scone Recipes

Classic Scones

Blueberry Scones

Citrus Scones

Cranberry Orange Scones Recipe (2)

Here’s my Cranberry Orange Scones recipe. I hope you enjoy them as much as we do!

Cranberry Orange Scones Recipe

Robyn Stone

5 from 23 votes

Cranberry Orange Scones make a quick and easy scone recipe perfect for breakfast or brunch. A delicious combination of sweet and tart!

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes minutes

Servings: 8

Ingredients

Cranberry Orange Scone Recipe:

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup sugar , + more for topping
  • 3 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 cup cold butter
  • 1/2 cup fresh cranberries
  • 3/4 – 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1 tablespoon orange juice
  • 1 tablespoon orange zest

Orange Glaze:

  • 1 cup confectioner’s sugar
  • 3-4 tablespoons orange juice
  • 1 tablespoon orange zest

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 400º F. Line a rimmed baking sheet pan with parchment paper or a nonstick baking sheet.

For the scones:

  • Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Add butter to the bowl and cut into the flour with a pastry blender until the largest pieces of butter are about the size of a pea and the flour mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in cranberries, 3/4 cup of heavy cream, orange juice, and orange zest. Press dough together between the palms of your hands. If it doesn’t just hold together, add more heavy cream until is just holds together.

  • Pour dough onto a lightly floured countertop or a pastry board. Pat dough into a large round disc, about an inch thick. Cut dough into equal sized wedges and place onto prepared baking sheet pan. Melt about 2 tablespoons butter and brush on top of dough.

  • Bake scones for 20-25 minutes or until they are just beginning to turn lightly brown. Remove from the oven.

Orange Glaze:

  • Whisk all of the glaze ingredients together in a medium sized bowl until smooth and then drizzle on top of each scone after it has cooled for about five minutes.

Nutrition

Calories: 364kcal | Carbohydrates: 57g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 36mg | Sodium: 272mg | Potassium: 285mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 31g | Vitamin A: 468IU | Vitamin C: 7mg | Calcium: 138mg | Iron: 2mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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Enjoy!
Robyn xo

Categorized as:30 Minutes or Less Recipes, All Recipes, Bakery, Breakfast Recipes, By Cooking Style, Christmas Recipes, Cooking, Egg-Free Recipes, Game Day Recipes, Holiday and Occasion Recipes, Recipes, Scones, Shower Recipes, Simple Recipes, Thanksgiving Recipes

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About Robyn

Robyn Stone is a cookbook author, wife, mom, and passionate home cook. Her tested and trusted recipes give readers the confidence to cook recipes the whole family will love. Robyn has been featured on Food Network, People, Southern Living, and more.

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Cranberry Orange Scones Recipe (2024)

FAQs

How much sugar is in a cranberry scone? ›

Amount per serving: Calories 390, Total Fat 13g (17% DV), Saturated Fat 7g (35% DV), Trans Fat 0g, Cholesterol 50mg (17% DV), Sodium 460mg (20% DV), Total Carbohydrate 65g (24% DV), Dietary Fiber 2g (7% DV), Total Sugars 29g, (Includes 11g Added Sugars, 22% DV), Protein 7g, Vit.

How do you get high scones? ›

How to make scones rise high? Once you've cut out your scone shapes, flip them over and place upside down on the baking tray. This will help them rise evenly and counteract any 'squashing' that happened when you cut out the dough. Perfect scones should rise to about 2 inches high.

What is the best raising agent for scones and why? ›

A mixture of bicarbonate of soda and cream of tartar, or baking powder (which is a ready paired mixture of the two) are used as the raising agent in scones.

What to avoid when making scones? ›

5 Mistakes to Avoid When Baking Scones
  1. Using anything but cold ingredients. The secret to the flakiest scones is to start with cold ingredients — cold butter, cold eggs, and cold cream. ...
  2. Only using all-purpose flour. ...
  3. Overmixing the dough. ...
  4. Not chilling the dough before baking. ...
  5. Baking them ahead of time.
May 1, 2019

What type of flour is best for scones? ›

Use all-purpose flour for a higher rising scone that holds its shape nicely, both in and out of the oven. To make more delicate, lower-rising, cake-like scones, substitute cake flour for all-purpose flour. Reduce the liquid in the recipe by 1 to 2 tablespoons, using just enough to bring the dough together.

Are scones unhealthy? ›

They are typically extremely high in calories from the heavy butter and cream. And, although scones with fruit might seem healthier, most are even higher in calories and still high in saturated fat. Steer clear of scones.

Are scones high in sugar? ›

When comparing sugar per 100g, values were highest for fruit scones at 18g sugar/100g (range 10.6-26.6g sugar/100g), followed by luxury scones at 14.5g sugar/100g and plain at 11.7g sugar/100g (Figure 6b). (g) Scone type and sample no.

What kind of sugar is in cranberries? ›

NameAmountDeriv. By
Total Sugars4.275
Sucrose0.165
Glucose3.445
Fructose0.675
19 more rows

How long should you rest scones before baking? ›

Recipes for scones sometimes provide a make-ahead option that involves refrigerating the dough overnight so it can simply be shaped and then popped into the oven the next day. But now we've found that resting the dough overnight has another benefit: It makes for more symmetrical and attractive pastries.

Why don't my scones rise enough? ›

The longer you get the dough sit before baking it, the less your scones will rise. Try to bake the dough as soon as you finishing kneading and rolling it out. Letting the mixture sit too long will cause the gas bubbles from the leavening agent to disappear. These gas bubbles are what help the scones rise.

What happens if you don't put baking powder in scones? ›

If we were to whip or steam the scones, they wouldn't retain their flakiness, and wouldn't rise as much as they would with baking powder. That leaves yeast. Yeast just needs some water and sugar to start producing carbon dioxide.

Is heavy cream or buttermilk better for scones? ›

Heavy Cream or Buttermilk: For the best tasting pastries, stick with a thick liquid such as heavy cream or buttermilk. I usually use heavy cream, but if you want a slightly tangy flavor, use buttermilk.

Should you sift flour for scones? ›

Don't forget to sift!

Be sure to double or even triple sift your flour, as it takes away the clumps in the flour allowing for more air pockets in the scone dough - the result being a fluffier and more crumbly scone.

Do you cook scones with warm or cold butter? ›

Butter must be COLD from the very start to when the dough enters the oven. The cold butter melts upon entering the oven and the water content in butter evaporates in steam. As the steam escapes, it bursts up and creates that beautiful tall, flaky, fluffy texture.

Should you chill scone dough before baking? ›

Not chilling the dough before baking: to really ace your scones, it helps to chill your dough again before it's baked. Using cold ingredients does help, but your hands will warm up the dough when you're working with it and the extra step of chilling will help you get the best result.

Is buttermilk or cream better for scones? ›

Heavy Cream or Buttermilk: For the best tasting pastries, stick with a thick liquid such as heavy cream or buttermilk. I usually use heavy cream, but if you want a slightly tangy flavor, use buttermilk.

How do you make scones rise and not spread? ›

Pack the scones closely on the baking tray so they will support each other as they rise rather than spreading. Make scones the day you need them – they taste far better warm.

Why do you want your butter cold when making a scone? ›

Butter must be COLD from the very start to when the dough enters the oven. The cold butter melts upon entering the oven and the water content in butter evaporates in steam. As the steam escapes, it bursts up and creates that beautiful tall, flaky, fluffy texture.

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