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:
Prep
Cook
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Total
Yield 8 Scones
Cranberry Orange Scones are loaded with vibrant orange flavor, fresh cranberries, and topped with a sweet orange glaze! Perfect for breakfast or brunch! And one of my favorite scone recipes to make during the holiday season!
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.
Courses Breakfast
Cuisine British
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 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 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
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.