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The texture of these cranberry orange scones is phenomenal – billowy soft and crumbly (as evidenced by the next picture).My sister Tanya hosted a ladies brunch/ girls tea party and these were my contribution. Remember theprincess party? That’s the one! Everyone loved that these scones weren’t overly sweet (the scones themselves have just 3 Tbsp sugar!) – it’s a fairly low-guilt dessert.
The base of this recipe is modified from the strawberry scones that I guest posted for Better Homes and Gardens. The idea for the orange flavoring and glaze is based on Ina Garten’s Cranberry Orange Scones.
Ingredients for Cranberry Orange Scones:
2 cups all-purpose flour *measured correctly
3 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 Tbsp grated orange zest (from 1/2 orange)
1/2 cup (1 stick) cold butter, cut into chunks
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream + 1 Tbsp to brush the top
3/4cup dried cranberries
1 Tbsp coarse/raw sugar to sprinkle the top, optional
Ingredients for the Orange Glaze:
2/3 cup powdered sugar
1 Tbsp freshly squeezed orange juice plus a pinch of orange zest
How to Make Cranberry Orange Scones:
Preheat oven to 400˚F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
1. In a large bowl, stir together 2 cups flour, 3 Tbsp sugar, 1 Tbsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 Tbsp grated orange zest. Add butter pieces and using a pastry cutter(or 2 knives), cut butter into mixture until you have coarse pea-sized crumbs.
2. Toss in 3/4 cup dried cranberries and stir gently to combine. Make a well in the center and set aside
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg and 1/2 cup heavy cream. Pour egg mixture into the flour mixture and use a spatula to stir just until moistened. tip: don’t wash the dish with your cream/egg mix. Add a little cream to it and use it to brush the scone in the next step!
4. Turn dough out onto a generously floured surface and pull it together into a round disk, about 3/4″ thick. Cut disk into 12 equal wedges and pull apart slightly. Brush tops of sconeswith 1 Tbsp heavy cream and sprinkle the top with raw sugar if desired.Bake 15-17 min until golden (mine took 16 min)
5. Remove scones from the hot baking sheetand let cool 15 min then whisk together 2/3 cup powdered sugar and 1 Tbsp freshly squeezed orange juice, adding more or less to desired thickness then drizzleover cranberry scones.
Cranberry Orange Scones Recipe
The texture of these cranberry orange scones is phenomenal - billowy soft and crumbly. And they are not overly sweet.
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Prep Time: 15 minutes mins
Cook Time: 16 minutes mins
Total Time: 31 minutes mins
Ingredients
Servings: 12 scones
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3 Tbsp sugar
- 1 Tbsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 Tbsp grated orange zest, from 1/2 orange, plus more for glaze
- 1/2 cup 1 stick cold butter, cut into chunks
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream + 1 Tbsp to brush the top
- 3/4 cup dried cranberries
- 1 Tbsp coarse/raw sugar to sprinkle the top, optional
- 2/3 cup powdered sugar
- 1 Tbsp freshly squeezed orange juice
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400˚F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. In a large bowl, sift together 2 cups flour, 3 Tbsp sugar, 1 Tbsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 Tbsp grated orange zest.
Add butter pieces and using a pastry cutter (or 2 knives), cut butter into mixture until you have coarse pea-sized crumbs.
Toss in 3/4 cup dried cranberries and stir gently to combine. Make a well in the center and set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together 1 eggs and 1/2 cup heavy cream. Pour egg mixture into the flour mixture and use a spatula to stir just until moistened.
Turn dough out onto a generously floured surface and pull it together into a round disk, about 3/4" thick. Cut disk into 12 equal wedges and pull apart slightly. Brush tops of scones with 1 Tbsp heavy cream and sprinkle with raw sugar if desired. Bake 15-17 min until golden (mine took 16 min).
Remove scones from the hot baking sheet and let cool 15 min then whisk together 2/3 cup powdered sugar, 1 Tbsp freshly squeezed orange juice and a pinch of orange zest. Add more or less powdered sugar or orange juice to reach desired thickness then drizzle over scones.
- Full Nutrition Label
- Nutrition Disclosure
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Cranberry Orange Scones
Skill Level: Easy
Cost to Make: $
If you make this recipe, I’d love to see pics of your creations on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter! Hashtag them #natashaskitchen
Have you tried scones? What’s your favorite variety?
Natasha Kravchuk
Welcome to my kitchen! I am Natasha, the blogger behind Natasha's Kitchen (since 2009). My husband and I run this blog together and share only our best, family approved and tested recipes with YOU. Thanks for stopping by! We are so happy you're here.
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FAQs
Baking tips for making the perfect scones
The colder the better when it comes to scones, we recommend a chilled bowl and pastry cutter too. Use pastry flour: This will create a noticeably lighter scone. However, self-raising flour works just as well and creates a higher rising scone that holds its shape nicely.
What are the ingredients in Trader Joe's cranberry scones? ›
INGREDIENTS: cake: unbleached enriched flour (wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), unsalted butter, demerra sugar, eggs, sweetened dried cranberries (dried cranberries, sugar, sunflower oil), cultured lowfat buttermilk (nonfat milk, milk, sodium citrate, vitamin a palmitate) ...
What is a substitute for heavy cream in scones? ›
Replace 1 cup (227g) of heavy cream or whipping cream with 1/2 cup (113g) of butter and 1/2 cup (113g) of milk. If your recipe doesn't call for a full cup of heavy cream, scale down the amount of butter and milk that's used accordingly.
Why put eggs in scones? ›
Scones can be made either with self-raising flour or with plain flour and baking powder. Sweet scones and cheese scones have an egg added to enrich them. Both will rise but whatever scone you make its important that they are handled lightly and not rolled too thinly.
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.
Is it better to make scones with butter or oil? ›
For example, if you substitute oil for butter or margarine, you can significantly reduce the amount of saturated fat in your baked goods. This streamlined recipe for Light Scones uses just 3 tablespoons of canola oil, which contains a fraction of the saturated fat found in butter or margarine.
What are Starbucks scones made of? ›
ENRICHED FLOUR [WHEAT FLOUR, MALTED BARLEY FLOUR, NIACIN, IRON, THIAMIN MONONITRATE, RIBOFLAVIN, FOLIC ACID], VANILLA BEAN GLAZE [SUGAR, WATER, FRUCTOSE, CORN STARCH, CORN SYRUP, GUM ARABIC, HONEY, AGAR, CITRIC ACID, VANILLA BEAN SEEDS, PECTIN, NATURAL FLAVOR, MONO- AND DIGLYCERIDES, LOCUST BEAN GUM], HEAVY CREAM [ ...
What are Victoria scones? ›
Victoria scones are also sometimes called empire scones and are a cake baked to celebrate Queen Victoria's coronation and Jubilee. The scone is shaped into a round with a cross cut across the top. A glace cherry is placed in the center of each segment. To represent the jewels in her crown.
What do traditional scones have in them that are not originally in American scones? ›
British scones are traditionally drier, lighter, plain in flavor, and significantly less sugary than American scones and are commonly served for breakfast or with afternoon tea as a bready snack. America's Test Kitchen claims that butter is one of the major differences between English and American scones.
Is buttermilk or heavy 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.
Tips for making the perfect scone
This is especially important with scones, which need a lot of raising agent to ensure that they are light and puffy. Or follow it a bit, but instead of milk use fizzy lemonade for lighter scones or cream for richer scones.
What is the difference between a scone and a shortcake? ›
But shortcakes don't share the same buttery flakiness of biscuits or the dry crumbliness of a scone. That's because shortcake recipes call for eggs and use more sugar. That's what makes them unique! This gives the shortcake a sweet taste and tight crumb—perfect for soaking up the juices from the fruit topping.
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.
How do you make scones rise higher? ›
To ensure taller scones, start with a thicker dough disc and place the scones on a tray with sides, allowing them to slightly touch one another. This arrangement encourages the scones to push against the pan and each other, promoting height.
Why do you mix scones with a knife? ›
Why should you stir batter for scones with a knife and not a spoon? You aren't stirring it, you're cutting the butter into the flour to coat, or shorten, the gluten strands with fat. This makes your scones tender.
Why are my scones not light and fluffy? ›
Some common reasons for dense scones are not using enough baking powder, overworking the dough and not baking with the oven at the correct temperature.
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 do my scones spread out and not rise? ›
The most likely reason I can think of is that you omitted the leavening, or what you used was flat. Another reason might be that your dough was too warm when you baked it, so it spread more while baking. Of course, scones are not yeast products, so they shouldn't rise as much as bread would.
