Easy Cranberry Orange Scones

You are going to love these easy cranberry orange scones. These scones are moist and flaky with orange flavor and juicy cranberries.

I remember my first trip to Ireland in 2010 and eating my first Irish scone. I must admit, I didn’t like it. The flavor was good, but they were dry, crumbly and not my favorite. I’ve kept my distance from scones up until now. My daughter has been making these this past year and they are delicious. Let me share the recipe with you.

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My new love for scones is real and these are amazing. Enjoy with a cup of coffee, milk or my favorite – a cup of hot black tea with steamed froth milk and a sprinkle of cinnamon.

What are Scones?

A scone is a small flour-based shortcake baked good. They’re usually plain, crumbly, dense, and non to lightly sweetened. It all depends on where you have a scone either in America or across the pond.

The earliest reference to scones dates back to the 16th century, when Scottish cooks typically made them for breakfast. These early scones were often made with oats and fruit, or occasionally just oatmeal on its own.

In the 18th century, the English adopted the scone, incorporating currants or raisins into their recipe. Meanwhile, in America, bakers began using baking powder instead of yeast and added sugar, creating a sweeter version.

You Will Love These Cranberry Orange Scones

• Bright, Zesty Flavor: The combination of fresh orange zest and cranberries gives a vibrant, refreshing flavor.
• Perfect Balance of Sweet and Tart: The sweetness of the scone dough balances with the cranberries tartness.
• Fluffy Texture: These scones are light, tender, and fluffy, with crumbly edges.
• Sweet Zesty Glaze: The touch of the glaze on top gives a pop of citrusy sweetness.
• Quick and Simple: These scones are super easy to make.
• No Special Ingredients: You can make these scones with basic pantry staples.

Easy Cranberry Orange Scone Ingredients

What is great is that most of these ingredients are already in your pantry and refrigerator making them easy to put together. You might need to pick up oranges and cranberries at the store, but the other ingredients are basic staples.

1. All-Purpose Flour: 2 cups of flour is needed but set extra aside for your hands and work surface.
2. Granulated Sugar: you will need 1/2 cup but can increase or decrease. Altering the sugar amount will adjust the flavor and texture of the scones.
3. Baking Powder: Gives these scones their lift.
4. Salt & Vanilla Extract: Balances and adds flavor.
5. Cold Butter: Butter adds flavor, flakiness and those perfect crisp edges.
6. Heavy Cream: For the best tasting pastries, stick with a thick liquid such as heavy cream.
7. Egg: 1 egg adds flavor, lift, and structure.
8. Orange Zest: The zest from one orange provides bright flavor and pairs perfectly with the tart cranberries.
9. Cranberries: Frozen cranberries are ideal because they keep the scone dough super cold.

How to Make Cranberry Orange Scones

These are easy to make by first mixing the dry ingredients together. Next cut the cold butter into the dry ingredients. We use our hands to work the dough but you can use a pastry cutter or two forks. A food processor can work too, but it often overworks the scone dough.

TIP: To avoid overly dense scones, work the dough as little as possible.

Whisk the wet ingredients together and pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, add the cranberries, then gently mix together. Form the dough into a round shape on the counter and cut into 8 wedges. Bake scones until golden brown.

Why Use Frozen Grated Butter to Make Scones?

If you want a great moist scone then grated frozen butter is the secret. This small added step is so worth it in the end and really, grating frozen butter is not that hard. Don’t be tempted to just toss in butter from the fridge; it will alter the outcome of the scones.

Cold butter coats the flour like making a pie crust by adding the cold butter to the mix. Refrigerated butter will likely melt some in the dough as you work it. However, frozen butter will hold up longer and creates less spread during the baking process. This keeps the edges crumbly and crisp with a moist center.

TIP: Use a cheese grate by hand to grate the butter.

How to Keep Scones from Spreading

These scones have a flaky center and a crumbly exterior and a nice rise.

Frozen butter is key to keep them from spreading, but keeping the dough cold is also essential. It is best to chill the shaped scones for at least 15 minutes prior to baking. You can even refrigerate overnight for a quick breakfast in the morning or freeze them and bake them unthawed with added baking time.

Baking Tips & Notes

• Gluten Free Option: Substitute King Arthur’s Gluten Free Flour measure for measure with no other changes and they worked out great.
• Make Ahead: Make the dough, cut them into their triangles and place on a baking sheet overnight. Bake them in the morning or another time. No need to thaw. Just adjust bake time.
• Use Heavy cream or Buttermilk: They work the best for scones. Almond, oat or soy milk will alter it a bit.
• All-Purpose Flour is Best: Apart from a gluten free option; cake flour would be too light for this scone recipe. Use all-purpose for these scones.
• More Zest: 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.
• Use Frozen Cranberries: Frozen berries keep the scone dough super cold helping the scones keep shape during baking.
• Freeze the Glaze: you can freeze the glaze separately and then thaw overnight in the refrigerator before adding to the scones.