One of the best things about the holidays is catching up with friends and family, especially while sharing a meal together. These cranberry orange scones are perfect for a holiday brunch with family or afternoon tea with the ladies.
Cranberry + orange is a classic flavor combination and does not disappoint in these scones. As for the scones themselves, they are true to their name — firm on the outside, soft and crumbly on the inside. They aren’t overly sweet, either, with just two tablespoons of sugar in the recipe.
The idea of baking scones from scratch can be intimidating, especially if you’re a recreational baker like me. Rest assured that you don’t need any special culinary skills to make these, and I’ll walk you through the process. Here we go!
Start by washing and drying an orange and then zesting about half of it. My palate is probably not as sophisticated as Ina Garten’s so I boosted the cranberry and orange goodness from her original recipe. You could substitute orange extract, but you’ll lose the texture that comes from the grated peel. I think the result is worth the trouble of zesting a real orange.
Next, dice up cold unsalted butter into small cubes. I don’t own a pastry cutter, but my hard-working husband bought me a gorgeous copper stand mixer and so I use that to cut the butter into the flour mixture. (Before I had a stand mixer, I used a food processor with fine results.)
Scatter the butter cubes on top of the flour mixture and mix on low speed until it becomes crumbly and resembles coarse cornmeal.
Next, combine eggs and heavy cream in a measuring cup and slowly pour into the bowl with the mixer on low speed just until combined. The dough will look lumpy. Mix in the dried cranberries.
Now here’s the hardest part of baking scones from scratch.
Place the dough on a floured surface and knead it 3-4 times until it comes together. You can add up to 2 Tbsp of flour if it’s too sticky, but tread lightly as too much flour will dry out baked goods.
Flour a rolling pin and roll the dough into a rectangle about an inch thick. With a pizza cutter or knife, cut the dough into eight triangles. Space them out, brush with egg wash, sprinkle with sugar and bake until golden.
Ina tops them with an orange glaze, but I like them plain or with a simple sugar icing. For the simple sugar icing, combine powdered sugar with half-and-half and drizzle on the top of each scone.
Not so intimidating after all, right?
I hope you’ll give it a go because they are totally worth the effort. And after you’ve made these cranberry orange scones, try out my Starbuck’s copycat recipe for pumpkin spice scones, too. Enjoy! — v.
The 12 Baking Days of Christmas 2017
Day 1 ❄︎︎ Gingerbread Whoopie Pies
Day 2 ❄︎ Skillet Sugar Cookies
Day 3 ❄︎ Cranberry Orange Scones
Day 4 ❄︎ White Chocolate Bark: Two Ways
Day 5 ❄︎ Rudy’s Gingerbread Loaf
Day 6 ❄︎ Homemade Cornbread
Day 7 ❄︎ Homemade Cornbread Stuffing
Day 8 ❄︎ Red Velvet Cookies
Day 9 ❄︎ Red & White Marbled Cupcakes
Day 10 ❄︎ Mini Caramel Apple Pies
Day 11 ❄︎ Make-Ahead Breakfast Casserole
Day 12 ❄︎ Christmas Checkerboard Cake
Don’t want to miss a recipe?
Subscribe to receive the latest updates directly to your inbox.
Stay in touch on Pinterest, Instagram and Facebook, too.
Thank you so much for reading!
Orange Cranberry Scones
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 Tbsp granulated sugar
- 1 Tbsp baking powder
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 2 tsp orange zest
- 3/4 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 3/4 cup dried cranberries
- 1 egg + 2 Tbsp water for egg wash
SIMPLE SUGAR ICING- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 Tbsp half-and-half
Directions
- Step 1 Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Step 2 In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and orange zest. Scatter cubes of cold butter on top of flour mixture and mix on low until crumbly, about 2-3 minutes. (You can also use a pastry cutter or food processor, pulsing 3-4 times.)
- Step 3 In a measuring cup, combine 2 eggs with heavy cream and slowly add to mixing bowl. Mix on low speed until blended. Fold in dried cranberries.
- Step 4 Transfer dough to a floured surface and knead 3-4 times into a ball. If the dough is too sticky, sprinkle a little flour — up to 2 Tbsp — until it’s easier to handle. Flour a rolling pin and roll the dough into a rectangle, about 1 inch thick.
- Step 5 With a pizza cutter or knife, cut the dough in half horizontally (lengthwise) and then again vertically (heightwise). You will now have 4 rectangles. Cut each rectangle in half diagonally (crosswise) for a total of 8 triangles. Combine egg with 2 Tbsp of water and brush the tops with egg wash. Sprinkle sugar on top.
- Step 6 Bake for 20-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer to wire racks to cool.
- Step 7 To prepare the simple sugar icing, whisk powdered sugar with half-and-half in a small bowl until smooth. Consistency-wise, it should drizzle back into the bowl slowly from a lifted spoon. If it’s too thick, add more half-and-half. If it’s too thin, add more powdered sugar.
-
Step 8
Once scones have cooled, drizzle icing back and forth over each scone with a whisk or dip the tops of each scone into the bowl to coat. Allow icing to set before serving.
This recipe is adapted from Barefoot Contessa.
