Cranberry Orange Scones are moist & buttery with a fantastic bright citrus flavor. Homemade cranberry scones perfect for breakfast or brunch that are easy to make & taste wonderful!
If you’re looking for a cute brunch recipe for Valentine’s Day brunch recipe that can look festive, cute, and isn’t chocolate (we all know we have enough of that this holiday) then check out these cranberry orange scones. The sweet and tart biscuits can be whipped up quickly and they make a yummy breakfast.
What are Cranberry Orange Scones?
I adapted this recipe from AllRecipes and made a few minor changes. I also made these scones to help bring a little Valentine’s Festiveness to my home by using a simple glaze and heart shaped cookie cutters.
You can use any cookie cutter shape you want, or simply go traditional and cut the scones into triangles with a pizza cutter. You really can’t go wrong either way just make sure to not have any pieces too thin so that it doesn’t get overcooked or burnt.
Cranberry Orange Scones Ingredients
-Flour: You will need 2 cups all-purpose flour for the base of this recipe.
-Sugar: Use 1/3 cup sugar to get a sweet tasting scone that’s light and fluffy.
-Leavening agents: You will need 1 teaspoon baking powder and1/4 teaspoon baking soda to help the scones puff up nicely.
-Salt: Enhance the flavors with 1/2 teaspoon salt.
-Butter: To make the scones light and flakey use 8 tablespoons of frozen unsalted butter.
-Cranberries: You will need 1/2 cup dried cranberries to ensure that each scone gets plenty.
-Sour cream: Adding in 1/2 cup sour cream makes these scones moist and flavorful.
-Egg: You only need 1 large egg to help bind the dough together well.
-Orange zest: To get that great orange flavor use 2 heaping tsp grated orange zest. This is about what you’d get from 2 small oranges or one large orange.
How to Make Cranberry Orange Scones
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.
In a medium sized bowl, mix the flour, 1/3 cup sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
Grate the butter into flour mixture using the large holes of a box grater; use your fingers to work in the butter (mixture should resemble coarse meal), then stir in the cranberries. {I didn’t use my fingers- I just mixed it all up in my Kitchenaid.}
In a small bowl, whisk the sour cream and egg until smooth.
Using a fork, stir the sour cream mixture into the flour mixture until a large dough clump forms. Use your hands to press the dough against the bowl into a ball. The dough will be sticky in places, and there may not seem to be enough liquid at first, but as you press, the dough will come together. The dough will be somewhat firm and sticky, but still manageable.
Place it on a lightly floured surface and then pat into a 7- to 8-inch circle about 3/4-inch thick.
Sprinkle with remaining the 1 tsp. of sugar. Use a sharp knife to cut into 8 triangles; place on a cookie sheet (preferably lined with parchment paper), about 1 inch apart.
Bake until golden, about 15 to 17 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes and serve warm or at room temperature.
To make the icing, whisk together ingredients until smooth. When the icing is mixed and smooth, line a 1 cup measuring cup with a plastic baggie and scrape icing into it. {Measuring cup holds bag nicely while you scrape icing inside.} Clip a tiny portion of the bag off a bottom corner and pipe icing onto scones.
Enjoy!
CRANBERRY ORANGE SCONES
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ⅓ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 8 tablespoons butter frozen
- ½ cup dried cranberries
- ½ cup sour cream
- 1 egg
- 1 TBSP orange zest grated {2 small oranges or 1 large orange}
Vanilla Glaze
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 1-2 Tbsp milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, mix flour, 1/3 cup sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Grate butter into flour mixture using the large holes of a box grater; use a mixer to work in butter (mixture should resemble coarse meal), then stir in cranberries.
- In a small bowl, whisk sour cream and egg until smooth.
- Stir sour cream mixture into flour mixture until large dough clumps form. Use your hands to press the dough against the bowl into a ball. The dough will be sticky in places, and there may not seem to be enough liquid at first, but as you press, the dough will come together. Dough will be somewhat firm and sticky, but still manageable.
- Place on a lightly floured surface and pat into a 7- to 8-inch circle about 3/4-inch thick. Sprinkle with remaining 1 tsp. of sugar. Use a sharp knife to cut into 8 triangles; place on baking sheet about 1 inch apart.
- Bake until golden, about 15 to 17 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes and serve warm or at room temperature.
Make icing
- To make icing, whisk together ingredients until smooth, line a 1 cup measuring cup with a plastic baggie and scrape icing into it. {Measuring cup holds bag nicely while you scrape icing inside.}
- Clip a tiny portion of the bag off a bottom corner and pipe icing onto scones. Let set and then enjoy!
Nutrition
What Are Some Other Flavorful Variations of This Recipe?
Lemon-Blueberry Scones: Add a generous teaspoon of finely grated lemon rind (zest) to the dry ingredients and substituting dried blueberries for the cranberries.
Cherry-Almond Scones: Add 1/2 tsp. almond extract to the sour cream mixture and substituting dried cherries for the cranberries.
Can I Keep Scone Dough In The Fridge Overnight?
You want to enjoy delicious warm scones for breakfast but don’t want to go through so much work in the morning, I get it! Make your dough in advance and follow through with the cutting and shaping steps. Once your scones have been placed on the baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap and then place them in the fridge overnight.
In the morning, pull out the tray of raw scones and preheat your oven. Once the oven is ready, bake as directed.
Why Do My Scones Crumble?
If your scones are crumblier than usual it could have to do with the butter and fats in this recipe. If you didn’t properly incorporate the butter into the flour, they could melt faster than desired and leave you with a drier scone.
How Do You Keep Scones Fresh?
Keep your cooled scones in an airtight container like a plastic bag or Tupperware styled container to keep them from drying out. They can last about 2 days at room temp this way.
Can You Freeze Glazed Scones?
Glazed scones can be frozen, just make sure to wait until after the glaze has hardened and set for the best results, otherwise things get messy. Once your glaze has set, place the scones on a baking sheet and freeze until solid (about an hour). Then place the scones in an airtight container until you’re ready to thaw and eat.
Here are some more Easy Scone Recipes:
More easy bread recipes for breakfast:
- ORANGE BREAKFAST CRESCENTS
- BREAKFAST ROLLS
- BEST BREAKFAST RECIPES
- RASPBERRY SWEET ROLLS
- STRAWBERRY CRESCENT ROLLS
- CINNAMON ROLLS WITHOUT YEAST
- ONE-HOUR ORANGE ROLLS
- MINI 15-MINUTE CINNAMON ROLLS
Cranberry Orange Scones are easy to make, plus they are moist, flavorful, and just sweet enough to delight everyone at your next breakfast or brunch!
Gaye says
when do you add the orange zest – I did it after the cranberries ….I hope that was correct. They are going in the oven in 3 minutes
Jessica says
Yes- just add it to the batter!