Cranberry-orange is my all-time favorite holiday flavor combination. For years, cranberry orange scones have been one of my family’s Christmas-morning traditions. These tender, flavorful dessert-biscuits, are made with a slight outside buttery-crispness, and bright fruit flavors. Here I share with you my favorite classic scone recipe, and the ingredient switch-outs to make them gluten free and/or vegan.
I have updated the details of my original scone recipe posted to my blog several years ago. Using this particular recipe, you can create any flavor of scones you like, as long as you keep the same ingredient ratios that I call out.
I’m up for improving or tweaking any recipe – especially my own – and I always jot down notes when I make any adjustment, whether it is for work or for fun. With such a response about how good my scones tasted, I decided to take the extra time to share and re-write a new recipe post.
I’m also sharing a brief, one-handed YouTube video so you can see how I bring it together, in two different cutting-styles, for a best thing to enjoy with breakfast or brunch.
My loved ones are happy when I bake for them at home, and it feels awesome to surprise them. I’ve been baking a lot for fun lately and took some time off while the kids are out of school for the holidays. When they said this last batch was the best they ‘have ever had in their whole life,’ it made my heart super happy.
This month I made a double-batch these scones. I baked and delivered some to my best friend who just finished grad school, and share a bunch with my sweethearts at home. I froze some prepared scone dough to bake on Christmas morning, since our tradition is to always have something fresh-baked to eat as soon as everyone is up and together. It is so nice and easy to have things like this (and cookies) ready to bake strait from the freezer.
Cranberry-Orange Scones
Ingredients
- 1 and 3/4 cups flour for gluten free scones, switch-out for 1:1 ratio gluten free flour
- 1/2 cup flour set aside for dusting
- 12 tablespoons cold butter one and one half sticks of salted, or switch out for vegan butter. If using vegan butter, increase flour by 1/4 cup.
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2/3 cup buttermilk
- 2 teaspoons (zest of a whole orange)
if using dried fruit/cranberries:
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries or dried fruit like cherries, blueberries, apricots, etc.
- 3 tablespoons orange juice or any liquid that compliments the fruit you are using
if using wet fruit like prepared or canned cranberries or pie filling for a different flavor of scone
- 3/4 cup fruit cooked/prepared cranberry sauce, blueberry pie filling, cherry pie filling, etc.
optional ingredients
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract or other complimenting extracts
- 1 teaspoon poppy seeds
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prepare a cookie sheet with either parchment paper or a baking/silpat mat.
- Please refer to my brief YouTube video for putting this together.
- In a large bowl, place all the dry ingredients: flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Cut the cold butter into pats and place on top of the dry mixture. Use a pastry blender or fork to cut the butter into the flour mixture. You do not want to use your fingers for this because you want to keep the butter bits cold. You are done preparing the butter once your pieces are all close to pea-sized.
- Make a well into the center. Add buttermilk, dried or wet fruit, juice, zest, extracts or seeds.
- Cover the well with the flour from the outside circle of the bowl. Totally combine the ingredients.
- You will want to handle the dough as little as possible, so that you are gently working with it. Dust with a little flour if too wet before forming a ball inside the bowl.
- Now you are ready to cut your scone pieces. Dust a little flour onto a flat surface that you can also use to cut with a knife. Fold over at least once and then form into a flat, piece that is unified in height. You can use a biscuit cutter, or cut into triangles with a knife.
- Place on the prepared cookie with the pieces of dough spread apart since they will spread during the baking process.
- Bake for 15-20 miunutes, until golden all around – bottom and top.
- Allow to cool. Top with set icing, or serve as-is, with lemon curd or jam on the side.
- The best result is when eaten the same day. They can be stored in an air tight container for up to three days. If you only want to make a few at a time, freeze the shaped scones that you do not bake for up to three weeks. They would only need a few extra minutes in the oven, and no thawing is necessary.
Video
In a separate recipe post, I have more details to topping scones. If you want to add the same orange set icing or glaze as I did here, please see my quick glaze video, or click to the details of my easy set icing or glaze recipe. It only takes a couple minutes to prepare, and it will add just a touch of sweetness and extra flavor to take these scones over the top.
I have come to find over the many years of baking at home, and especially as a professional, that it takes some experience to master working with scone or biscuit dough, to know when it is just-right, based on hand-feel. The recipe itself is super-simple, but the gentle handling of the ingredients is necessary for the best-possible, and most delicious scone.
If you haven’t made scones before, then I’m proud of you for trying this, because if you actually want to do something, you have to start somewhere. This is not hard and you can do it. Once you get the first try over-with, it will build your confidence. Each time you do this, you will get better and better. Know that I’m here to cheer you on!
Let’s talk more about flavor and getting just the right finish that you like best for your scones. For other fruit flavored scone ideas, I recommend using my blueberry pie filling or cherry pie filling.
Here we want to push the natural fruit flavors of cranberries and oranges. Whether you are using dried, sweetened cranberries, cranberry sauce fresh-made, or cranberry sauce from a can, you want to have the fruit prepared and in the right amount, before making this recipe.
To finish scones to look and taste as festive as these from my original recipe post, I made a fruit reduction or syrup from the cranberry sauce, and allowed that to cool while covering each scone in royal icing. I used crystalized sugar to cover a single cranberry to place at the top. This is a beautiful finish for blueberry scones too.
I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do at home. Thanks for being here. Take care.
