Orange Cranberry Scones with Sweet Orange Topping

Today is a baking day and I have a request for homemade Orange Cranberry Scones. My first thought was, request granted. I love warm scones that are filled with fruit and have golden crumbly edges with a tender and moist center. I never mind baking a batch of scones, ever!

This quick and easy recipe for making these phenomenal Orange-Cranberry Scones uses simple ingredients, that are filled with fresh and dried cranberries, orange zest and orange juice.

These scones bake up golden brown and flaky like a biscuit, and, to make these scones even tastier add a  two-ingredient orange and sugar topping for a little crunch that turns these scones into a gourmet treat.

Tender and Moist Orange Cranberry Scones

Oranges and Cranberries for a tart and tangy flavor

Scones need flavor, otherwise, they would just be boring.  This orange cranberry scone recipe has a sweet and tart mixture of oranges and cranberries.

Mixing dried and fresh cranberries adds two times the cranberry flavor and texture, plus orange juice and zested orange zest adds some great citrus flavor.

When cranberries are in season make sure t0 buy some extra bags and freeze them that way you can have cranberries available for your next recipe.  I keep them on hand for making these One Hot Oven favorite cranberry recipes.

Cranberry Winter Fruit Salad

Spiced Orange Cranberry Bread

Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Apples and Cranberries

Apple Cranberry Galette

Ingredients for making Orange Cranberry Scones

1. Flour
2. Butter
3. Sugar
4. Baking Soda and Baking Powder
5. Salt
6. Egg
7. Whole Milk or Half and Half
8. Oranges and Orange Zest
9. Fresh and Dried Cranberries

A classic pairing of Orange and Cranberries

How to Make Flavorful Orange Cranberry Scones

Step 1. Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat.

Step 2. The butter for scones needs to be as cold as possible. Take the 1/3 cup of cold butter and cut it into small cubes and put it back in the refrigerator to keep cold until needed.

Step 3. Either with a food processor or a food chopper, chop the fresh cranberries into small pieces.  I find my handy dandy food chopper works great for chopping cranberries as I can control the size of the chopped cranberries better. Set these aside.

Step 4. In a large mixing bowl add the flour, salt, sugar, orange zest baking powder, and baking soda and mix this all together.

Step 5. Add the cold cubed butter to the bowl.  With two knives or a pastry cutter, cut in the butter until it resembles small peas.

Step 6. Mix the milk, egg, and orange juice together and pour this mixture into the bowl with the flour mixture. Add the dried cranberries and stir until the ingredients are just moistened. This is where you do not want to overmix the dough.

Step 7. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and lightly gather into a round ball.

Step 8. Once you have the dough in a nice round shape start rolling into a large round circle until the dough is about a 1/4″ thick.

Step 9. Next, add the chopped cranberries to the top of the rolled out dough.

Step 10. After you add the cranberries fold the dough over in thirds. If the dough is sticking just use a bench scraper and a little flour to lift it.

Step 11. Once the dough is folded into thirds pinch to seal the edge and flip the dough over. With your hands, you can press the edges of the dough to make them smooth and straight.

Step 12.  Cut the dough into triangles, here the bench scraper works perfectly for cutting the dough. I like to do it this way so I don’t have to re-roll the dough scraps. Plus I like triangle-shaped scones.

Step 13.  Here is the last step before baking your scones that will turn your scones into truly remarkable treats. Brush the scones with a little bit of cream or milk and then mix together a little bit of sugar and the zest of an orange and sprinkle on top of the scones.  Yes, just these two simple ingredients are what will take these scones to the next taste level. Bake for 15 minutes.

Baked Orange Cranberry Scones

Tips for Making the Perfect Scone

• If you have never made scones don’t be intimidated,  they are simple and quick to make.  Just make sure you have cold butter cut into small cubes to add to the flour. Adding the cold butter to the scone dough keeps it from getting soft too quickly in the dough and keeps the scones tender.
• Another great tip for making scones is to handle the dough as little as possible. The more you mix, knead or roll the dough the tougher the dough gets. Have you ever had a scone that resembled a hockey puck?
• After mixing the dough and adding the dried cranberries, gently roll it out into an 8″ thick circle.  Add the chopped fresh cranberries on top of the rolled dough.  Doing this keeps the cranberries from getting overmixed in the dough which can make the dough an odd color.  By doing this the cranberries keep their nice bright color and fresh flavor.

Don’t forget to Pin to your favorite board

These are my favorite kitchen tools for making these scones

Make sure you try these other One Hot Oven favorites using oranges and cranberries

Spiced Orange Cranberry Bread is a recipe I make over and over, it is a family favorite.

Pumpkin Cranberry Bread with Orange Glaze is full of falls wonderful flavors.

Sweet Mandarin Orange Scones have that tart and tangy flavor of mandarins.

Mandarin Orange Bundt Cake has pieces of mandarin oranges baked throughout the cake.

Mandarin Orange Creme Caramel is a lusciously creamy dessert that is so easy to make.

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5 from 1 vote

Orange Cranberry Scones with Sweet Orange Topping

These Orange Cranberry Scones are easy to make and come out moist and tender every time. With dried and fresh cranberries these scones are both a little sweet and tart. The orange sugar topping adds a sweet flavor to each bite.

Course Quick Bread

Cuisine American

Keyword orange cranberry scones, scones

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 45 minutes

Servings 8 scones

Calories 236kcal

Author One Hot Oven

Equipment

• Rolling Pin
• Cookie Sheets
• Rolling Mat
• Citrus Zester
• Food chopper
• Bench Scraper

Ingredients

• 2 cups AP flour
• 3 tbls. sugar
• 1 orange, zested
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/3 cup cold butter cubed
• 1 juice from one orange
• 1/4 cup whole milk or half and half
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 1/2 cup fresh cranberries
• 2 tbls. Milk for glaze
• 2 tbls. sugar for topping

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper
• Cut the cold butter into small cubes and put back in the refrigerator until ready to use.
• In a large bowl mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
• Zest the orange and add 1 tablespoon of the zest to the flour mixture. Reserve the rest of the zest for the topping.
• Cut in the cold cubed butter using a pastry blender or two knives. The mixture will look like coarse crumbs.
• Mix together the milk/half and half, 1/4 cup orange juice,and the egg. Add this mixture to the flour mixture along with the dried cranberries and stir with a fork until combined to make a soft dough.
• Turn dough onto a floured surface and knead a few times to form a smooth dough.
• Gently roll into an 8" circle, then top with the chopped fresh cranberries.
• With a bench scraper lift a third of the dough and fold to the center, then lift the other third of the dough and fold to the center. This will create a long rectangle.
• Pinch the seam and flip the dough over on a floured surface. With your hands, you can press the dough to even it out and smooth the ends and side. Cut the dough into 8 triangle shapes and put the triangle dough on the parchment-lined baking sheet.
• Mix the remaining orange zest and 2 tbls. of sugar in a small bowl.
• Brush the tops of the unbaked scones with milk and sprinkle the orange, sugar topping over the tops of the scones.
• Bake for 15 minutes or until nicely browned.

Notes

Make sure to use cold, cubed butter. 

For the fresh cranberries. Measure 1/2 cup of the whole cranberry then use the food processor or chopper to chop the berries finer. 

For best results place the cut scones in the refrigerator for 15 minutes before baking.  This helps the scones keep their shape. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1scone | Calories: 236kcal | Carbohydrates: 35g | Fat: 8.7g | Cholesterol: 41mg | Sodium: 214mg

Deliciously Flaky Cranberry Orange Scones

with bright bold flavors

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