Perfect for the holiday season, or any time of year these cranberry orange scones are easy to make. What’s more, the recipe serves 8 to 10, so it’s perfect for entertaining.
Not too sweet, festively studded with cranberries and orange zest, these scones are a wonderfully cozy, winter morning treat. I like blitzing a pecans with the cranberries, but that’s an optional add and if you skip them, it won’t impact the recipe. Best of all, you can prepare the scones the night before, stick them in the freezer, and then bake from frozen in the morning.
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Need a Recipe for Cranberry Scones?
Then, look no further. Here is why this is the cranberry scones recipe you’ll want to whip for brunch.
- Easy & quick. You can have these in the oven in under 30 minutes. The whole thing on the table in 45.
- Perfect flavor combo. The cranberry-orange combo is magic. Bright, tart, warm, and sweet.– Find my tips below to get the perfect texture. I’m talking slightly crisp + flakey on the outside and moist and soft in the middle. YUM.
- Full of holiday cheer. Baked goods + cranberries + bursting with citrusy orange flavor = HAPPINESS.
- Grab-and-go perfection. When morning routines get busy, I turn to grab-and-go breakfasts we can snag on our way out the door. This recipe for buttery, tender orange and cranberry scones is one of my favorites!
- Anytime, anywhere. Whether it’s breakfast, brunch, or dessert, these scones are the chameleons of deliciousness.
Ingredients You’ll Need
With these ingredients, you’ll have everything you need to whip up a batch of Orange Cranberry Scones that are bursting with flavor and texture!
- Fresh Cranberries: I love using fresh, tart cranberries for these scones as a contrast for all the times I use dried cranberries during the rest of the year. And really, these tart, juicy berries are the star of the recipe, balancing the sweetness of the scone with their vibrant flavor. Use fresh cranberries for the best texture, but frozen can work if thawed and patted dry.
- Pecans: Optional but pecans are so nutty and buttery and they compliment the cranberries so well.
- Flour: No need to fuss over cake vs bread or anything else. All-purpose flour is perfect for providing structure while still making a tender, delectable scone. However, avoid overmixing the dough for light and fluffy scones.
- Baking powder: If you are unhappy with the lift or density of your scones, make sure your baking powder isn’t the culprit. Yes it can go bad, so make sure your baking powder is still good for the best lift and a light and airy texture.
- Salt
- Granulated Sugar: While these scones aren’t overly sweet, they still need a little sugar for sweetness and to help crisp up the outsides of the scones.
- Cold Butter: Cold butter (I used unsalted) is key to achieving flaky layers. As the butter melts in the oven, it creates pockets of steam, resulting in the perfect scone texture. Use a pastry cutter or your hands to incorporate the butter quickly without warming it.
- Cold Milk: Dairy creates a rich and tender dough. You can substitute heavy cream or buttermilk for an even more decadent result, but avoid low-fat milk for the best results.
- Cold Eggs: Eggs act as a binder and add richness to the dough.
- Pearl sugar: For decorating the tops of the scones. I love how festive pearl sugar looks here, but feel free to swap for granulated sugar for a crunchy, sparkling top if you don’t have any pearl sugar in your cupboard.
Variations & Substitutions
- Swap the fresh cranberries for frozen in a pinch. Just make sure you thaw, drain, and pat the cranberries dry before you blitz them in the food processor.
- Swap the milk for buttermilk or heavy cream. Depending on the thickness of the liquid you use, you may need to add more liquid, but start with the amount in the recipe and add liquid a tablespoon at a time.
- Use granulated sugar or sparkling sugar instead of pearl sugar to decorate the tops of your scones.
Tips for Delicious Scones
- Butter. Cold, cubed butter, and a good amount of it, make the crumb of these scones both flaky and tender.
- Orange zest, though subtle, complements the cranberries in this recipe.
- A Scale. I created this recipe using weighted measurements, so a digital scale makes the scone dough come out perfectly every time.
- Freeze your butter. If you have 10-20 minutes before making scones, you can pop your butter into the freezer. Remember: the colder the better. Take your premeasured,partially frozen butter out and pop it in the food processor. Flaky scones all but guaranteed.
- Flour your surface. Scone dough is sticky, so a floured surface and lightly floured hands are your friends.
- Don’t overmix! While tempting, your dough will look messy when you start to shape it. On that note, I use my hands for most of the shaping process, using a rolling pin, which can also overwork the dough, only at the very end. Overmixing can cause dense scones.
- Freezable. Scone dough freezes beautifully, and there is no need to thaw it before baking! Simply pop them in the oven directly from the freezer. See below for instructions.
- Double Sheet Pan. I recently learned that if you find the bottom of your scones get too brown during the bake, place another sheet pan below the one the scones are on — the layer of insulation should slow down the browning. How neat is that?
How to Make This Recipe for Cranberry Orange Scones {With Video}
- In a food processor, pulse the flour (15 ounces or approximately 3 cups), baking powder (2 tablespoons), salt (¾ teaspoon), and sugar (⅓ cup) a couple times to combine.
- Add the butter (¾ cup) and pulse 7-10 times until it is completely distributed. You shouldn’t see any chunks of butter, and the mixture should have a sandy texture with course crumbs. Transfer to a large bowl.
- In a small bowl, whisk to combine the milk (1 cup) and egg (2). Save 3 tablespoon of it for the egg wash later, and pour the rest of the wet ingredients into the mixing bowl with the dry ingredients.
- Stir to combine with a spatula, until a shaggy dough forms.
- Transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead about 10 times until the dough comes together into a relatively smooth ball. Take care not to knead too much, or the dough will be tougher and not rise as high. I like to use a bench scraper to help me do this.
- Roll the dough about an inch thick and use a 3″ cutter to cut approximately 6 circles. Re-roll the scraps and cut out another 2.
- Freeze the scones while you preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
- Place the scones onto a prepared baking sheet and freeze the scones while you preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
- When you remove from the freezer, brush the tops of the scones with the reserved egg wash and sprinkle them with pearl sugar, sparkling sugar, or granulated sugar. (If you don’t top them with any sugar, a light dusting of powdered sugar after they bake and cool is another festive way to top your scones.)
- Bake the scones for 14-16 minutes or until golden brown on the tops and bottoms. Enjoy cooled scones with butter, honey, jam (leftover cranberry sauce would be a-mazing), and a piping hot cup of coffee.
FAQs
Can I make these without a food processor?
Yes you can. I recommend using a pastry blender or a couple of forks to cut the butter into the flour, or even grating it with a box grater before working it into the flour, if you don’t have a food processor, though. In addition to keeping the ingredients colder, it’s also easier on you, the baker! (Never fear, I’ve also successfully made scones dozens of times with my bare hands when I’m feeling particularly bold – there is something about making something from scratch, isn’t there?)
Can I freeze cranberry orange scones?
Yes, you can! Even better, you can freeze scones before or after baking, but since there is nothing like a fresh, buttery scone, I prefer freezing them prior to baking.
If freezing before you bake them, put the cut scones onto a baking sheet lined with parchment in the freezer until the scones are solid, or about an hour, and then transfer them to a freezer bag or other container for storage.
To bake, place directly on a baking sheet and bake from frozen until golden, 19-22 minutes or until scones are lightly browned on the tops. King Arthur Baking conducted a taste test to see how long you could freeze unbaked scones without impacting flavor, taste, or rise. Based on their findings, it’s best to bake within a month, although you can store them for up to 3 months in the freezer.
If freezing after you bake, allow your scones to cool to room temperature. (Freezing warm scones affects their texture.) Freeze them spaced out on a cookie sheet lined with a sheet of parchment paper and then place the frozen scones into your container or plastic bag. Frozen, baked scones will last about a month. After that you risk freezer burn. When you want to reheat scones, remove as many as you need and let them thaw unwrapped and uncovered to prevent them from getting soggy. Warm them in the oven for 5-10 minutes at 300F or toast in your toaster oven.
What is the best way to store scones?
Once baked, these scones are best stored in an airtight container or ziploc plastic bag at room temperature. They’re typically best eaten within 2-3 days. You can reheat sliced in the toaster, heated in the toaster oven or in the oven for 5-10 minutes at 300F to help them crisp back up.
More Fun Breakfast Ideas
If you love this recipe, check these out!
📖 Recipe
Cranberry Orange Scones
Ingredients
Ingredients
- 1 cup cranberries whole fruit
- ½ cup pecan halves optional
- 15 ounces all-purpose flour approximately 3 cups
- 2 tablespoons baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 2.7 ounes sugar approximately ⅓ cup
- ¾ cup cold unsalted butter 1 ½ sticks
- 1 cup whole milk
- 2 large eggs
Instructions
Instructions
- In a food processor, pulse the flour (15 ounces or approximately 3 cups), baking powder (2 tablespoons), salt (¾ teaspoon), and sugar (⅓ cup) a couple times to combine.
- Add the butter (¾ cup) and pulse 7-10 times until it is completely distributed. You shouldn’t see any chunks of butter, and the mixture should have a sandy texture with course crumbs.Transfer to a large mixing bowl.
- In a small bowl, whisk to combine the milk (1 cup) and egg (2). Save 3 tablespoon of it for the egg wash later, and pour the rest into the mixing bowl with the dry ingredients.
- Stir to combine with a spatula, until a rough dough forms.
- Transfer to a lightly floured countertop and knead about 10 times until the dough comes together into a relatively smooth ball. Take care not to knead too much, or the dough will be tougher and not rise as high.
- Roll the dough about an inch thick and use a 3″ cutter to cut approximately 6 circles. Re-roll the scraps and cut out another 2.
- Freeze the scones while you preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
- Place the scones onto a parchment or silicone mat lined baking sheet and freeze the scones while you preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
- When you remove from the freezer, brush the tops of the scones with the reserved egg wash and sprinkle them with pearl sugar, sparkling sugar, or granulated sugar.
- Bake the scones for 14-16 minutes or until golden brown on the tops and bottoms. Enjoy!
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