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Cranberry Orange Scones are loaded with vibrant orange flavor, fresh cranberries, and topped with a sweet orange glaze! These are so festive and perfect for breakfast or brunch. And one of my favorite scone recipes to make during the holiday season!
Cranberry Orange Scones
Guess what? We finally moved into our new home! It took almost 2 years to get it to this point… but we couldn’t be happier. I promise a house tour is coming SOON… I can’t wait to show you the kitchen and my new workspace.
But for now, how about some cranberry orange scones? AKA the very first recipe I baked in our new oven! They’re rustic, buttery, and loaded with flavor! The perfect treat to enjoy with a cup of coffee or tea!
Choosing the right Cranberries…
For this recipe, you may use fresh cranberries or frozen cranberries! But I don’t recommend using dried cranberries. They don’t omit very much juice or flavor, and when I found the scones I tested with the dried variety very flat and boring. That said, if you’re going to go ahead and use dried cranberries (because I know someone will lol), I would suggest soaking them in some hot water for 15 minutes or so to rehydrate the fruit a bit. Or just make one of my other scone recipes! I have a ton!
Why Cold Butter is KEY
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, when it comes to making flaky scones, cold butter is your best friend!
And when I say cold, I mean COLD!!! No room temperature butter will do! I actually suggest you pop your butter in the freezer for about 15 to 20 minutes before you plan on working it into the scone dough. This reducing the risk of the butter softening too much as it’s worked into the dough. In terms of how you work the butter into the dough, you have options! You can use two forks, a pastry cutter, or your hands!
In addition, I recommend keeping all of your other ingredients chilled until they’re needed. This includes your eggs, cream, and even your dry ingredients and flour mixture! The colder your ingredients are, the flakier your scones will be! Sometimes I’ll even grate my butter into the dough using the coarse side of a cheese grater!
Don’t skimp on the Baking Powder
This recipe calls for 1 tablespoon of baking powder. Yes, TABLESPOON! This ensures TALL and tender scones! Baking powder should not be substituted for baking soda!
Oven Temperature
Unlike many scone recipes that call for you to preheat the oven to 400 degrees, this recipe will bake at 425! The slightly higher baking temperature gives the scones a rich golden brown color and ensures they’re fully baked in about 20 minutes! Be sure to place the baking pan on the middle baking rack, and as always, keep an eye as they bake.
Can I make these Gluten Free?
Although I tested these with all-purpose flour, I think a GF cup for cup flour substitute would work well! I’ve had good experience with Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour and have heard good things about this Cup for Cup Gluten Free Flour. If you try either, let us know how it goes in the comment section!
How to Make Scones in 5 Easy Steps:
- In a large bowl combine the dry ingredients.
- Work in the cold butter until the mixture resembles a coarse meal.
- In a small bowl whisk together the heavy cream, egg, and extracts. Pour liquid ingredients into dry ingredients, add cranberries, and mix until a shaggy dough has been created.
- Pour dough out onto a lightly floured surface and work into a disc. Be patient! This will take a little elbow grease. Once you have your disc, cut into 8 triangles and place on the baking sheet.
- Brush the tops with egg wash and sprinkle with sparkling sugar. Bake for 20 minutes, or until golden brown!
To glaze or not to glaze…
As the scones bake, you can decide whether or not you want to make a glaze. Personally, I love these scones as is! And don’t feel a glaze is mandatory. That said, an orange glaze really makes the scones pop and cuts the tartness of the cranberries.
And making one is so easy! You’ll simply whisk together a little orange juice, zest, vanilla, and powdered sugar. Then drizzle over the warm scones and tuck in!!!
More Cranberry Recipes:
Bakery-Style Cranberry Orange Scones
Ingredients
For the Cranberry Orange Scones:
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 Tablespoon baking powder
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1 Tablespoon orange zest, finely grated
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1/2 cup (4 ounces) unsalted butter, VERY cold and cut into tiny pieces
- 1 large egg
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon orange extract (optional but highly recommended)
- 1 and 1/2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries, do not thaw
For the egg wash:
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 1 teaspoon water
- 2 Tablespoons sparkling sugar, optional
For the Glaze:
- 1 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
- 2 tablespoons orange juice
- 1 teaspoon orange zest, finely grated
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon salt, optional but recommended to cut the sweetness
Instructions
For the Cranberry Orange Scones:
- Preheat oven to 425°(F). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine flour, salt, baking powder, granulated sugar, brown sugar, orange zest, cinnamon, and cardamom, mix well to combine.
- Cut the butter into small cubes then, using your fingers, two forks, or a pastry cutter, work it into the dough until it resembles a coarse meal. The chunks of butter should be about the size of peas.
- In a glass measuring cup whisk together the egg, cream, vanilla, and orange exact.
- Pour the liquid mixture into the center of the flour mixture. Then add in the cranberries. Use a spatula to stir everything together until just moistened. Don't worry if the dough looks shaggy!
- Empty the loose dough out onto a clean, lightly floured work surface. Knead the dough a few times, then shape it into an 8-inch disc.
- Cut the disc into 8 even wedges and carefully transfer them to the prepared sheet, placing them 2" apart.
- Lightly brush each scone with the egg wash. Then sprinkle with sparkling sugar, if using.
- Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, or until light golden brown.
- Allow scones to cool for 5 minutes, then drizzle with glaze (if using), and serve warm!
For the egg wash:
- In a small bowl whisk together the egg and water until well combined.
For the Glaze:
- In a small bowl combine the confectioners' sugar, orange juice, orange zest, and vanilla extract. Drizzle over scones.
Looks delicious. I gotta try this!
Hi can I make this with dried cranberries?
Love your recipes xxx
Hi Jane. I don’t recommend it. But if you do, you’ll want to soak them first in hot water so they plump up a bit. Fresh or frozen cranberries work best!
I made them with dried cranberries and they turned out great! I have made them both ways and prefer the dried. The raw are too tart.
I never tried scones, I think it’s time to make some !
Yes! They’re so easy and the perfect breakfast treat!
These are the best scones I’ve ever made. They definitely taste like they came from a fancy bakery. I cut the frozen cranberries in half and I cut up the butter into small pieces and then put it into the freezer for the few minutes I was assembling the rest of the ingredients. I’m thinking of making them again with blueberries and lemon zest as I love their texture. thanks for another great recipe
This comment made my day, Mimi! Thank you so much! And I definitely think lemon and blueberry would work beautifully!
Just made these delicious scones. I let a couple of pulses in the Cuisinart replace my warm hands incorporating the butter. I did need to add a tiny bit more cream but all eventually came together. Didn’t have orange extract so I used Fiori di Sicilia. Sprinkled with sparkling sugar instead of glaze and they are just yummy. Next time I might do what another baker suggested and cut the frozen berries in half. I think it would make incorporating and shaping a little smoother. Thanks for a great recipe.
So glad these were a hit, Camille! And you can definitely chop up the cranberries for a more uniform dough. But the bursts of cranberry flavor will just be more subtle!
First time I ever tried scones. They came out tasting fantastic, just like the fancy, expensive bakery scones. I followed the recipe to the letter but the dough came out so *dry* it wouldn’t even hold together. I added about 2T of melted butter & it at least held together at least enough to form & cut.
Keeping that in mind, I’ll be making these quite often, with different flavor combinations. Another poster mentioned blueberries & lemon – that sounds fantastic.
Thanks for sharing!
Hi Kim! So glad you enjoyed them! The dough shouldn’t be that dry, so I’m wondering if you had a little bit too much flour? You could reduce the recipe by 1/4 cup next time, and then add if needed.
I just made this recipe yesterday and I followed it to the letter. My dough looked like a desert rather than shaggy it was so dry. I ended up adding another 1/3 cup of cream and another egg before it would hold together. It was delicious. But I think I will try easing up on the amount of flour as well
Hi Elizabeth! How do you measure flour? If you don’t already, I would suggest fluffing it up in the bag first, then lightly spooning it into the measuring cup. You could definitely decrease the flour by 1/4 cup, but I wouldn’t suggest more. The dough should be quite dry and shaggy, but as you knead and work it, it will eventually come together.
Be sure to used the spoon into the measuring cup method rather than the scope into the flour method. Also use a dry ingredient measure for flour and sugars, not a liquid measure. I bake a LOT and have learned by much trial and error!
Can the ingredients be TOO cold? I grated my butter into the bowl directly from the freezer and used cranberries straight out of the freezer, too. I made the recipe to the letter using Baking 101 techniques & measuring cups & spoons and had the same problem.
I love them, so I really want to get this problem ironed out.
I made this recipe this morning to make Sunday happier-and it worked! The directions were accurate and easy to follow. I didn’t have to use more than one bowl, one measuring cup and a few spoons and a knife. And they are so delicious-I was shocked at how buttery they were, and that the cranberries weren’t too sour. Just wonderful. 6 people/8 scones? It was hard to divide them up the last two fairly! Thanks for a recipe I can use again and again.
Hi Maureen! I’m so thrilled to hear that these made your Sunday morning a happy one! And that you found the recipe easy to follow! Have a wonderful holiday season 🙂
How long will these keep for? And how is it best to store them please?
Thank you for the great recipe can’t wait to try them!
Hi Amy. They’re best eaten the day they’re baked. But will keep, wrapped and at room temperature for 2 days and in the freezer for 2 months.
These scones look wonderful and I will make them tomorrow. I happen to have cranberries on hand. Always try to this time of year. One thing I do is after making the disk and cutting, I pop them into the freezer, either for 30 minutes, then bake or until frozen, wrap and double wrap. There you have scones ready to pop into the oven at the drop of a Christmas bow. Thanks for the recipe
Hi. I was wondering if you do the egg wash after you freeze, before you bake or before you freeze? I want to freeze the raw dough and bake Christmas am. Thank you.
Can I use my homemade cranberry sauce leftover from Thanksgiving in these?
Hi Nancy. I don’t think that would work. But if you try, let me know 🙂
Can you please share the nutritional information for this recipe?
Thanks!
Hi Kelli! I don’t share caloric information but there are lots of apps that will allow you to enter the ingredients and get the nutritional info 🙂
Anybody tried freezing these after baked? I’m doing lots of mini scones for employee gifts at work and will be making up quite a few batches over a few days and am hoping to freeze them so they can all be gifted at once.
Just made these and love them!! Trying to figure out the best way to give as gifts. Have you tried making them and freezing them already cut into the triangles? Wondering if that would work to give people a bag of them and they could pop them in the oven when they need a yummy breakfast treat? Thanks for the great recipe!!
I have frozen all of the scones I make before baking. I do that because I live alone and can’t always find someone to come over and I’m not about to stuff my face with 8 of them but I would like to!
I have given them frozen, raw with instructions for baking. I take one out of the freezer and turn on the oven. When it’s at 425 I pop it in and it works great.
I have made these twice and both times had to add extra cream to get the dough to hold together. And yes, I did spoon it carefully into measuring cup so as to not have too much flour. Having said that, they are absolutely delicious and I will be giving them as Christmas gifts!
I made these gluten free with King Arthur’s 1:1 gf flour and they came out great!
Has anyone made these with oat milk? They look amazing!
Do you think this dough would be ok to refrigerate or freeze for 3 days before baking?
I made these this morning and they turned out amazing! A great Christmas Eve treat! Thank you so much!
If I don’t have heavy cream could I use Half and Half or evaporated milk or a combination. I live ten miles from the grocery store so need to improvise sometimes. Love your recipes and instructions.
yum!! I added chocolate chips and almond extract instead of orange extract to mine too!
This is my favorite scone recipe ever (and I’ve been on a quest for a year now!)
These look great! Just wondering if you can substitute buttermilk for the heavy cream?
Thank you!
Hi Julie. I don’t recommend it! Buttermilk has a much lower fat content and will result in a drier scone.
I made these today, they were wonderful. This is the first time I have ever made scones but it will not be the last.
This are my favs, they’re better than bakery ones. I have made them many times already, everyone loves them.
I used dried cranberries.
Thanks again Ashley <3 !
I’m in the cranberry capital of the world, Wisconsin. Where do u find fresh or even frozen cranberries in august. I checked many stores n no luck
Hi Kathy! My local grocery store (Hannaford) sells them year round in the frozen fruit section. I believe some readers have found them at Target and Walmart, too.
How long do these keep once baked?
Can you freeze them?
OR freeze the dough and Bake as needed?
They’re best served the day they’re baked. You can freeze the baked scones and the scone dough for up to 2 months. Add a minute or two onto the bake time if baking from frozen.
Hi Ashley — congratulations on your upcoming new addition. I want to make dough and freeze. Do I use egg wash before I freeze the raw dough or when I pull out of freezer before I bake them? Thanks so much. Love all your recipes.
Very delicious!
I made these this morning for my mom’s birthday.. Orange Cranberry Scones are her favorite… They turned out amazing…
Just made and now in freezer. I had made cranberry orange relish yesterday so I added it instead of fresh or frozen berries. I’ll let you know how they taste.
PS… Try soaking dried berries in some Grand Marnier.
Turned out great. I shaped 2 discs and made smaller petite ones. Everyone loved them.
These turned out beautifully. Highly recommend for a special morning/afternoon at home
I have been having trouble finding a good scone recipe & this one did not disappoint!!! Very moist, tender, and sweet! I love how to baked up!
Thank you for this amazing recipe!
I was wondering if I could use lemon in this recipe instead of the orange. Not a fan of orange but this recipe sounds so good!
Sure!
Amazing! They taste and smell like Christmas. I’ll be making another batch to freeze for Christmas. I didn’t have orange essence, but they were still great without it. One tip I always use with scones is to freeze the butter and then use a cheese grater.
I made and froze the dough last week to make for Christmas. I didn’t have Cardamom, and I used dried cranberries soaked an hour in orange juice and then drained and they are truly fantastic. They have just replaced banana bread scones as my husbands favorite. Thank you, they are perfection. All of you recipes I’ve tried are winners, Ashley.
Followed the recipe exactly! These are delicious thank you
This is one of the most delicious scone recipes I’ve used. I’ve baked Ina Garten’s orange cranberry scones many times and they are absolutely wonderful, but I had some leftover fresh cranberries from the holidays and wanted to try this out. I have to say I much prefer the fresh to the dried. I was afraid they might burst similar to fresh blueberries, but they stayed almost fully intact and weren’t messy to work with/eat at all.
I wanted to add this note on substitutions: I know swapping things out is risky, but I didn’t want to make a trip the grocery store, so I wanted to add my subs in case anyone is in the same boat:
1. If you don’t have cream, I melted 4 tbsp of butter in a measuring cup, let it cool, then topped it off with whole milk until it reach 3/4.
2. If you don’t have orange extract, I used about 4 tsp of orange juice.
I did both of these things and the scones still turned out amazing. Everything else I followed as listed and the flavor and texture was perfect.
These were delicious!!! Made this morning. Made 9 individual one’s size of English muffins but thicker. Some needed a couple extra minutes to bake. Thnx for the recipe!!