Homemade cranberry orange scones are deliciously flaky and tender with bright orange flavor and pops of juicy cranberries. Crunchy coarse sugar and orange glaze are the perfect finishing touches!
Scones. They can taste REALLY good or they can taste REALLY bad. It all depends on the recipe and mixing method.
I learned how to make absolutely delicious scones a few years ago when I attended a cooking event in the Panera Bread test kitchen. Turns out that I had been making all the wrong scones up until that point! Since that fateful afternoon, I’ve mastered chocolate chip scones, cinnamon scones, apple cinnamon scones, and blueberry scones. I use the same basic scone recipe for each flavor. By the way, I wrote an entire post devoted to my favorite base recipe for scones.
Today we’re making cranberry orange scones, flavors perfect for fall.
Why You’ll Love These Cranberry Orange Scones
- Sweet crumbly edges
- Soft, moist centers
- Crunchy golden brown exterior
- Bright flavor from orange zest and orange juice (a tasty addition we use to make the best cranberry sauce, too!)
- Pops of juicy cranberries (just like biting into a piece of cranberry cake!)
- Drizzle of orange glaze on top
Cranberry Orange Scone Ingredients
- Flour: 2 cups of all-purpose flour is my standard amount for homemade scones, but set extra aside for the work surface and your hands.
- Granulated Sugar: Stick with around 1/2 cup of white granulated sugar for this dough. Feel free to slightly decrease, but keep in mind that the scone flavor and texture will slightly change.
- Baking Powder: Adds lift.
- Salt & Vanilla Extract: These kitchen staples add flavor.
- Cold Butter: Besides flour, cold butter is the main ingredient in cranberry scones. It adds flavor, flakiness, crisp edges, and rise.
- Heavy Cream: For the best tasting pastries, stick with a thick liquid such as heavy cream. Buttermilk works too! For a nondairy option, try using full-fat canned coconut milk. Avoid thinner liquids such as milk or almond milk—the result is often dry, bland, and flat scones.
- Egg: 1 egg adds flavor, lift, and structure.
- Orange Zest: The zest from one orange provides bright flavor and pairs perfectly with the tart cranberries. Don’t leave it out!
- Cranberries: I prefer to use frozen cranberries because they keep the scone dough super cold. Fresh or even dried works too. Use the same amount.
Before baking, brush the scones with heavy cream and sprinkle with coarse sugar. These extras add a bakery-style crunch and lovely golden sheen.
Frozen Grated Butter
I’ve learned that frozen grated butter is key to scone success.
Like when we make pie crust, work the cold butter into the dry ingredients. The cold butter coats the flour. When the buttery flour crumbs melt as the scones bake, they release steam which creates pockets of air. These pockets add a flaky center, while keeping the edges crumbly and crisp. Refrigerated butter might melt in the dough as you work it, but frozen butter will hold out until the oven. Timing is KEY! And the finer the pieces of cold butter, the less the scones spread and the quicker the butter mixes into the dry ingredients. Remember, you don’t want to over-work scone dough.
I recommend grating the frozen butter with a box grater.
How to Make Cranberry Orange Scones
Since there’s no yeast, these cranberry orange scones go from the mixing bowl to the oven relatively quickly. First, mix the dry ingredients together. Second, cut cold butter into the dry ingredients. You can use a pastry cutter, 2 forks, or your hands for this step. A food processor works too, but it often overworks the scone dough. To avoid overly dense scones, work the dough as little as possible. I always use a pastry cutter.
Next, whisk the wet ingredients together. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, add the cranberries, then gently mix together. Form the dough into a disc on the counter, then cut into 8 wedges.
One of my recent tricks! To obtain a flaky center and a crumbly exterior, scone dough must remain cold. Cold dough won’t over-spread either. Therefore, I highly recommend you chill the shaped scones for at least 15 minutes prior to baking. You can even refrigerate overnight for a quick breakfast in the morning.
After that, bake the scones until golden brown.
The scones are WONDERFUL right out of the oven, but taste even better with an orange glaze on top—a must on cranberry scones. 🙂 Or try a swipe of homemade honey butter or the cranberry curd from this cranberry curd tart. You can’t go wrong!
More Cranberry Orange Recipes
- Cranberry Orange Bundt Cake
- Orange Cranberry Bread
- Cranberry Orange Muffins
- Cranberry Orange Icebox Cookies
These scones should most certainly be on your Thanksgiving breakfast menu! A perfectly festive prelude to all those Thanksgiving pies later in the day. 🙂
Print
Glazed Cranberry Orange Scones
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 8 large or 16 small scones
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
These cranberry orange scones are buttery and moist with crisp crumbly edges and soft flaky centers. Crunchy coarse sugar and an orange glaze are the perfect finishing touches! Read through the recipe before beginning. You can skip the chilling for 15 minutes prior to baking, but I highly recommend it to prevent the scones from over-spreading.
Ingredients
- 2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled), plus more for hands and work surface
- 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 2 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons orange zest (about 1 orange)
- 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) unsalted butter, frozen
- 1/2 cup (120ml) heavy cream
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 heaping cup (125g) frozen cranberries*
- optional: 1 Tablespoon (15ml) heavy cream and coarse sugar
Orange Glaze
- 1 cup (120g) confectioners’ sugar
- 2–3 Tablespoons (30-45ml) fresh orange juice*
Instructions
- Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and orange zest together in a large bowl. Grate the frozen butter using a box grater. Add it to the flour mixture and combine with a pastry cutter, two forks, or your fingers until the mixture comes together in pea-sized crumbs. See video above for a closer look at the texture. Place in the refrigerator or freezer as you mix the wet ingredients together.
- Whisk 1/2 cup heavy cream, the egg, and vanilla extract together in a small bowl. Drizzle over the flour mixture, add the cranberries, then mix together until everything appears moistened.
- Pour onto the counter and, with floured hands, work dough into a ball as best you can. Dough will be sticky. If it’s too sticky, add a little more flour. If it seems too dry, add 1-2 more Tablespoons heavy cream. Press into an 8-inch disc and, with a sharp knife or bench scraper, cut into 8 wedges.
- Brush scones with remaining heavy cream and for extra crunch, sprinkle with coarse sugar. (You can do this before or after refrigerating in the next step.)
- Place scones on a plate or lined baking sheet (if your fridge has space!) and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400°F (204°C).
- Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mat. After refrigerating, arrange scones 2-3 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet(s).
- Bake for 22-25 minutes or until golden brown around the edges and lightly browned on top. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for a few minutes as you make the glaze.
- Make the glaze: Whisk the confectioners’ sugar and orange juice together. Add a little more confectioners’ sugar to thicken or more juice to thin. Drizzle over scones.
- Leftover iced or un-glazed scones keep well at room temperature for 2 days or in the refrigerator for 5 days.
Notes
- Freeze Before Baking: Freeze scone dough wedges on a plate or baking sheet for 1 hour. Once relatively frozen, you can layer them in a freezer-friendly bag or container. Bake from frozen, adding a few minutes to the bake time. Or thaw overnight, then bake as directed.
- Freeze After Baking: Freeze the baked and cooled scones before topping with icing. I usually freeze in a freezer-friendly bag or container. To thaw, leave out on the counter for a few hours or overnight in the refrigerator. Warm in the microwave for 30 seconds or on a baking sheet in a 300°F (149°C) oven for 10 minutes.
- Overnight Instructions: Prepare scones through step 4. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Continue with the recipe the following day.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk | Box Grater | Pastry Cutter | Bench Scraper | Pastry Brush | Baking Sheet | Silicone Baking Mat or Parchment Paper
- Over-spreading: Start with very cold scone dough. Expect some spread, but if the scones are over-spreading as they bake, remove from the oven and press back into its triangle shape (or whatever shape) using a silicone spatula.
- Cranberries: I prefer to use frozen cranberries because they keep the scone dough super cold. Fresh or even dried works too. Same amount.
- Orange Juice: I prefer fresh orange juice. You’ll have an orange anyway—the one you zested for the scone dough! Store-bought orange juice works too, of course.
Reader Comments and Reviews
I just made these but omitted the 1/2 of sugar, they are so good even without the sugar. I founded the glaze and raw sugar on top were enough.
This is the perfect recipe to perfect with. Watch her youtube video if you are a visual leaner!! This was a hit with everyone.
Hi! Love your page but this is the second recipe I’ve encountered here where the measurement conversion is entirely off. 250 g of flour is 1 cup, not 2. There are similar issues throughout the recipe. Can you clarify or fix?
Hi Alicia, 1 standard American cup of flour that’s been properly measured (spooned into the cup and then leveled) should weigh about 125g.
super easy to follow and turned out perfect!
I make the cranberry orange and lemon blueberry on a regular basis. Everywhere I take them they are a huge hit! I’m freezing some to take on vacation. Best scone recipe ever! Can I freeze the glaze in a separate bag?
Hi Lynne, yes, you can freeze the glaze separately and then thaw overnight in the refrigerator before adding to the scones. So glad to hear these are a favorite for you!
Used coconut cream. Didn’t need icing. OMG! So so good. Just the perfect moistness and crispy! No icing needed.
Ingredients are good, but a box cutter for the butter seems inefficient and risky. Butter sticks to the grater and fingers could be injured. I made this with a food processor for cutting in butter and it worked fine. Three stars for now.
The butter doesn’t stick to the grater if you freeze it beforehand (as instructed) and work quickly! I had no such trouble and my fingers were fine.
I have made this recipe a few time over the holidays everyone raved about it.
I made this recipe and it was AMAZING! I have now made four batches and froze two of them.
Loved this recipe so much! We made it for Christmas and then it was so good I had to make it again for new years and just subbed cranberry orange for lemon blueberry. Either way they were a hit!
My favorite scone recipe! The flavor and texture are perfection in my book.
Frozen cranberries added too much moisture to the dough. I would not use frozen next time
A must keep!!! Soft on the inside with a crust on the outside. Beautiful.
Can I use orange juice in scone dough instead of zest? If so how much?
We don’t recommend adding additional liquid to the scones as that will cause them to spread.
Made these for a Christmas brunch. They are delicious and seasonal. Thanks for the detailed instructions.
This is recipe is pro.
Hi Sally! First time baker here and I bravely tried these scones :). The texture was amazing! Thank you for sharing your talents with us. The one thing that I noticed is that I really didn’t taste any of the orange. Did I do something wrong? Thank you again!
Hi Jill, we’re so glad you enjoyed the scones! For next time, you can definitely try increasing the orange zest for a more prominent flavor. You could even try adding some zest to the glaze, in addition to the orange juice.
I made this for our Walking Gro
p Christmas Breakfast last year and to
ld them they were my ginea pigs, was a hit .. made again this year and recipe shared ..I used Clementine instead of oranges ..utilized what I had on hand .. were amazing
I’ve tried to make scones in the past and they did not turn out. I was hesitant to make this recipe, but I’m so glad I did. These are amazing! And fairly simple to follow
These sound wonderful! I have fresh cranberries (not frozen) should I freeze them first or is in okay to use as is?
Hi Sue, We prefer to use frozen cranberries because they keep the scone dough super cold. Fresh works too! Enjoy!
I used fresh cranberries, but froze them prior to folding into the dough. They were amazing!
Made this morning for a special Thanksgiving breakfast. They were perfect. I have found that it is easier to use a cheese grater with butter from fridge and then freeze on a plate. Put parchment under so it doesn’t stick to plate.
Do you add the cranberries still frozen or do u thaw them out first?
Hi Lorayne, keep them frozen. Happy baking!
These scones are delicious!! They also make me feel close to Mom, who we lost a few years ago, as she loooved berry scones. Cranberry Orange has long been one of my very favorite flavor combinations. I’ve made quick breads and muffins among other things with this flavor combo for many years. A trick I learned way back is to plump dried cranberries (no added sugar is best imo) in orange juice as a way to bring more orange flavor to the table without adding a bunch of extra liquid to a recipe. I’m sure fresh berries would be fabulous, but I had some dried I needed to use up, and the orange soak was yummy and worked perfectly in this recipe. My method is to cover the dried berries in OJ, microwave a minute or two until boiling, let them soak for about 15 minutes before draining them well. For the scones, I put the bowl of drained OJ cranberries in the freezer while I waited for the stick of butter to mostly freeze. This helped keep the scone dough nice and cold while working with it. Thanks for another great one Sally and team!
For the cranberry/orange scones, do you add the orange zest with the dry ingredients?
Hi Sherry, see step 1: “Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and orange zest together in a large bowl.” Hope you love the scones!
Do you chop the cranberries before adding them? Or keep them whole? Won’t keeping them whole provide too much of a sour bite?
Hi Moe! We keep them whole but you can chop them if desired.
Best scones I’ve ever had. Made them with oat milk and vegan butter due to my boys milk allergies. Turned out so good.
Absolutely the BEST scone recipe.
Love how it is so adaptable for sweet or savory. COLD AND FROZEN is the key!
This was the best scone recipe I have ever made!!!!! Thank you so much
Do you freeze fresh cranberries, or are there packages of frozen cranberries in the freezer section of stores?
Hi Diane, both! You can freeze them, or you can sometimes find them pre-frozen in the grocery store.
This is a great recipe. I added 1/2 tsp cinnamon and it added a nice subtle warmth. Can I cut into smaller wedges without changing the baking time and texture significantly? 16 seems like too many wedges. Perhaps 12?
Hi Mark! You can cut in them into 12. The bake time will be a little different so keep an eye on them.
I’m going to make these scones tomorrow for my grandson who gave me a new cast iron scone pan separated into triangles. How do I fill the scone wells and how long does it take to bake?
Hi Barbara, you can place the cut scones into the individual wells of your cast iron pan. We’re unsure of the exact bake time using that pan, but it should be very similar to the one listed here. Hope you enjoy the scones!