Cranberry Orange Scones With Fresh Orange Glaze
Bake buttery cranberry orange scones with bright citrus flavor and a sweet orange glaze. Easy, flaky, and perfect for winter mornings or holiday brunch.
- Prep Time: 35 minutes
- Cook Time: 24 minutes
- Total Time: 59 minutes
- Yield: 8 1x
- Category: Breakfast/Brunch
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: English
Ingredients
Scale
For the dough:
- 1 cup dried cranberries
- 1/2 cup frozen salted butter (1 stick), shredded
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- Orange zest (1 large orange)
- 1/2 cup heavy cream plus 2-3 tablespoons as needed (this keeps the scones moist and flaky but not dry)
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Turbinado sugar for sprinkling over the top of the scones before baking
For the glaze:
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- Orange juice (from 1 large orange)
Instructions
Before you’re ready to make the scones, freeze the butter, then shred it in a food processor or box grater. Place the butter back in the freezer. This helps the butter mix in evenly with the flour mixture.
For the dough:
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
- In a large bowl, add the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, granulated sugar, and orange zest), and whisk until combined.
- Add the frozen shredded butter and mix with a wooden spoon. When the butter is frozen, it combines perfectly with the flour mixture, forming pea-sized crumbs. Cover the bowl and place it in the refrigerator.
- While the dough is in the refrigerator, whisk together the heavy cream, vanilla extract, and egg until well combined.
- Remove the dough from the refrigerator, pour the heavy cream mixture over the top of the dough, add the dried cranberries, and mix until combined and moist. Use 2 to 3 more tablespoons of heavy cream as needed.
- Pour the dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Flour your hands and shape the dough into an approximate 8″ diameter disk.
- Using a sharp knife or a bench scraper, cut the disk into 8 even wedges.
- Brush the wedges with heavy cream and sprinkle turbinado sugar on top. Place the wedges on a plate and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes. Chilling the dough helps keep the wedges from spreading when placed in the oven.
- Line one or two baking sheets (depending on the size you have) with parchment paper. Arrange the scones 2-3 inches apart on the baking sheets.
- Place the baking sheets in the oven and bake for 22-24 minutes or until the scones are brown around the edges and just lightly browned on top. Remove from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool.
- Once the scones have cooled, drizzle the orange glaze over the top of each one. Let the glaze set for a few minutes, and then they are ready to serve and enjoy!
For the glaze:
- In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar and orange juice until combined. You may need to add a little more powdered sugar to thicken the glaze or some more orange juice to thin the glaze.