These Cranberry Orange Scones are the best fall scones you’ll ever have! This recipe yields tender, flaky, and ultra-moist scones.
Orange juice and orange zest add loads of flavor. Each bite is speckled with tart fresh cranberries. Serve these scones for breakfast with a warm cup of coffee.
Making Cranberry Orange Scones
Several months ago I made these peach almond scones. They had become my favorite summer scone.
Now that we are well into fall, I felt that I needed to add a fall scone recipe to my collection. I used my blueberry buttermilk scones recipe as a starting point and made a few changes to achieve the desired results for these cranberry orange scones.
When making scones it’s important to remember to use cold butter.
When the scones are baking the cold butter will melt inside, releasing steam which creates little pockets of air. This will make the scones light and airy on the inside while the outside remains crisp and flaky.
Handle the dough as little as possible. Avoid overworking the dough when mixing the ingredients together. You only want to mix until the mixture begins to stick together.
Knead just enough
Knead the dough just a few times. If you over knead, gluten will develop. Gluten will make the scones tough. No one likes tough scones.
Shape gather the dough into a ball and press it together. Then you are ready to place it on your baking sheet and press it out into a 7-inch circle.
Remember to work fast to avoid warming the butter.
I topped the scones with a sweet orange glaze. This enhances the orange deliciousness.
I also topped them with coarse sugar just before baking. The sugar adds a slight crunch to the tops, a great contrast in texture.
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Cranberry Orange Scones
These Cranberry Orange Scones are the best fall scones you’ll ever have! This recipe yields tender, flaky, and ultra-moist scones. Orange juice and orange zest add loads of flavor. Each bite is speckled with tart fresh cranberries. Serve these scones for breakfast with a warm cup of coffee.
Ingredients
For the scones
- 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon orange zest
- 3/4 cup fresh cranberries
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut into pieces
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup fresh orange juice
- 1/2 cup milk, plus 1 tablespoon for brushing
- 2 tablespoons coarse sugar
For the glaze
- 1 cup confectioners' sugar
- 3 tablespoons fresh orange juice
Instructions
Make the scones
- In a large bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and orange zest together. Cut the butter into the flour using a pastry blender, 2 knives, or your fingertips. The mixture should look like coarse crumbs. Gently fold in the cranberries. Whisk the vanilla, orange juice, and milk together then gradually add it to the flour mixture. Stir just until the dough comes together. You may not need all the orange juice mixture. Add a little at a time until the dough is moist but not too wet. Do not over mix the dough or the scones will be tough.
- Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and gently knead four or five times. Pat the dough into a 7-inch round circle. Cut the circle in half, then cut each half into four triangle-shaped wedges. Arrange the scones 2 inches apart on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Place the scones in the freezer for 30 minutes.
- Position the oven rack to the center of the oven and heat to 400°F. Brush the tops of the scones with milk and sprinkle with coarse sugar. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack to cool and drizzle with glaze.
Make the glaze
- Combine all the ingredients for the glaze in a small bowl and whisk until smooth.
Make ahead tip
- Unbaked scones can be refrigerated overnight. Or seal in an airtight container and freeze for up to 1 month. Add about 2 minutes to the baking time when baking from frozen.
- You can keep leftover scones for up to 2 days in the refrigerator.
- Unglaze scones can be frozen for up to three months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight then reheat and glaze before serving.
Notes
The scones need to be cold when going into the oven. Placing the shaped dough into the freezer for 30 minutes ensures the scones will bake up light and fluffy. Alternatively, you can place the scone dough in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 384Total Fat: 12gSaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 32mgSodium: 471mgCarbohydrates: 63gFiber: 2gSugar: 27gProtein: 5g
Nutritional values are automatically calculated by Nutritionix and should be used as a general guide only. For accurate values, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients you used for the recipe.
Michelle says
Hi,
Do you think this would work with dried cranberries? Thank you!
Michelle K.
Jen Sobjack says
Dried cranberries are okay to use.
Denise Morris says
These are perfect scones. A little crunch on the outside but buttery flaky on inside. I was skeptical with no egg but they did not disappoint!
Jen Sobjack says
They are one of my favorites! So happy you enjoyed them!!
Jenni says
These are so easy to make and really delicious!
Tina says
is it possible to freeze these like 2 days in advance and then pop them in the over the morning of? They are amazing by the way!
Jen Sobjack says
Yes, you can freeze the shaped scones and bake them when you're ready to.
Ina Bentley says
Delicious but taste best warm...maybe right out of the oven! I rehydrated dried cranberries & sprinkled scones with slivered almonds before baking & only used half of the glaze. Yummy!
Jen Sobjack says
Glad you loved the scones!
Penny says
I found this recipe very easy to make due to your instructions. The scones turned out delicious. The only change I made was adding more cranberries. Do you have a recipe for blueberry scones with lemon?
Jen Sobjack says
Hi Penny! I'm so glad you like the scones. I don't have a recipe for lemon blueberry scones but I do have a blueberry scone recipe and a lemon cream cheese scone recipe with strawberries. You could add lemon zest to the blueberry scones or swap out the strawberries for blueberries in the lemon cream cheese scones.
Maya says
BEST SCONES EVER !!!!! I’ve made tons of scone “bricks” before , and was prepared for another one today , but what I got instead was was crunchy yet soft and light scone babies . Thank you !! One question , can frozen cranberries be used ?
Jen Sobjack says
Hi Maya! This is fabulous to hear! You can use frozen cranberries. Just toss them in, no need to thaw.
Melissa says
Can you dried cranberries if fresh are not available?
Jen Sobjack says
Yes, dried cranberries will work just fine.
Mary Jane Chucko says
Jen do the cranberries need to be cut in half? If not would it ruin the recipe to do so?
Jen Sobjack says
There's no need to cut the cranberries in half. And I have no idea how that would work if you did because I haven't done this myself.
Sharon says
Phenominal! Seriously, out of the oven and into my mouth... I'm baking assorted scones as a thank you gift to my doctor & his staff. I'm far from the best baker so all the credit goes to you for your easy to follow & ohhhh so delicious recipes!
They deserve only the best and that's exactly what they will get. Thank you!!
Jen Sobjack says
That's so wonderful to hear!
meghan e lavetsky says
Can you make the dough the night before and put in the fridge until morning?
Jen Sobjack says
Yep, you sure can! Make and shape the scones then put them in the refrigerator until you're ready to bake the next morning.
Cassie says
I just made these (after having them on my pinterest and thinking about them for about 3 years), and they are INCREDIBLE. Seriously, thanks so much for sharing this with us!!!
Jen Sobjack says
I'm so happy to hear this! This is one of my favorite scones!!
Sherry Koch says
The orange cranberry scones are delicious. My taste testers loved them. I combined your recipe with one I have for gluten free and they are yummy!
Jen Sobjack says
Yay! That's wonderful news!
Bobbi says
Hi Jen,
Ah, the joy of Pinterest! On November 5, 2017, I’m asking a question about your post from November 3. 2014. These orange and cranberry scones look so good! Perfect for Holiday entertaining of family members who love orange and cranberry. You mention the scones should be put in the freezer for 30 minutes or refrigerator for 2 hours so they will be cold when they go into the oven. Do you think they could be refrigerated overnight so they only need to be baked in the morning? Not sure if that would have a negative impact on the effectiveness of the baking powder and baking soda. Well, I guess while I’m asking, what about freezing them? As shaped dough or after baking? I can’t wait to try them! Thanks!!!
Jen Sobjack says
You certainly could freeze the dough! Place them in the freezer for 30 minutes then add them all to a freezer safe container. Set the scones on the counter while you preheat the oven then bake as directed.
Meg M. says
These were wonderful!! My husband doesn't like fall and asked for glazed orange cranberry scones to get him in the mood for cooler weather. I came across your blog and this recipe, and they were a huge hit! Thank you! The recipe turned out perfectly. I really liked the consistency of the finished batter. It was dry enough to easily shape into a round, but the resulting scone was very tender and moist. Thank you for the great tip about freezing the dough before baking. I earned huge brownie points from my family last Sunday, and I look forward to finding more recipes here that will keep the smiles coming. Thank you! -Meg (a novice introvert baker 🙂