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Three cranberry orange scones on a plate

Cranberry Orange Scones

Cranberry Orange Scones are flaky and buttery with tangy buttermilk, dried cranberries, orange zest, and a simple orange icing. Freezer friendly recipe!

Course Breakfast
Cuisine American
Keyword thanksgiving
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Yields: 16 scones
Recipe by Tessa Arias

Ingredients

Scones:

  • 3 cups (381 grams) all-purpose flour
  • 1/3 cup (66 grams) granulated sugar
  • 1 tablespoon freshly grated orange zest
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 1/2 sticks (170 grams) unsalted butter, cold and cubed
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 2 large eggs, divided
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 3/4 cup (100 grams) dried cranberries

Glaze:

  • 1 1/2 cups (188 grams) powdered sugar
  • 2 tablespoons orange juice or milk
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
  • 1 teaspoon freshly grated orange zest

Directions

Make the scones:

  1. Adjust the oven rack to the center position and preheat to 400°F. Line two baking pans with parchment paper.
  2. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, zest, salt, baking powder and baking soda.
  3. Add the butter and cut with a pastry cutter or a fork until the butter is the size of large peas.
  4. In a separate bowl whisk together the buttermilk, 1 egg, and vanilla extract.
  5. Make a well in the middle and add the liquid mixture. Mix until streaks of flour remain. Gently stir in the dried cranberries until barely combined. Don't over mix.
  6. Transfer the dough to a floured surface and divide into 2 equal parts. Lightly knead each into 3/4 inch thick, 6-inch diameter rounds. Cut each round into 8 wedges and place on your prepared baking pans. Space them out about 2 inches apart.

  7. MAKE AHEAD: At this point the unbaked scones can be refrigerated overnight, or sealed and frozen for up to 1 month. If baking from frozen, add about 2 minutes to the baking time.

  8. In a small bowl, combine the remaining egg with 1 teaspoon water. Brush over the shaped scones.
  9. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until lightly browned. The scones are best served warm, or within a few hours of baking.

Make the glaze:

  1. Whisk all glaze ingredients together until thick but still pourable. Drizzle over cooled scones and let stand until set.

Recipe Video

[adthrive-in-post-video-player video-id="cfPUXCtW" upload-date="2022-04-20T22:02:11.000Z" name="How to Make TALL Scones" description="Ever wondered how to make TALL flaky scones?! A little bit of lamination gets the scones to shoot up sky high with tons of flaky layers. Don’t worry, it sounds more complicated than it actually is. And if this seems like way too much work, just skip this step. You’ll still have tasty scones!" player-type="default" override-embed="default"]