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Cranberry Orange Scones make a quick and easy scone recipe perfect for breakfast or brunch. A delicious combination of sweet and tart!
I love the combination of fresh, tart cranberries mixed with the brightness of oranges. It is a combination I’ve turned to time and again in cranberry orange muffins and even my cranberry orange rolls. The flavor combination definitely doesn’t disappoint in this cranberry orange scones recipe either. It makes for the perfect combination for anytime of year, but especially throughout the fall and winter when fresh cranberries are readily available and oranges are at their peak.
I love them so much that I actually buy fresh cranberries now while they are in season and store them in my freezer so that I can use them anytime of the year for these scones and in other recipes.
How to Make Cranberry Orange Scones
- flour
- sugar + more for topping
- baking powder
- salt
- butter
- cranberries
- heavy cream
- orange juice
- orange zest
Orange Glaze:
- confectioner’s sugar
- orange juice
- orange zest
Step by Step Instructions
- Prep. Preheat oven to 400º F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking sheet.
- Make Dough. Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Add butter to the bowl and cut into the flour with a pastry blender until the largest pieces of butter are about the size of a pea and the flour mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in cranberries, ¾ cup of heavy cream, orange juice, and orange zest. Press dough together between the palms of your hands. If it doesn’t just hold together, add more heavy cream until is just holds together.
- For the Dough. Pour dough onto a lightly floured countertop or a pastry board. Pat dough into a large round disc, about an inch thick. Cut dough into equal sized wedges and place onto prepared baking sheet. Melt about 2 tablespoons butter and brush on top of dough.
- Bake. Bake scones for 20-25 minutes or until they are just beginning to turn lightly brown. Remove from the oven.
- Make the Glaze. Whisk all of the glaze ingredients together in a medium sized bowl until smooth and then drizzle on top of each scone after it has cooled for about five minutes.
Can You Use Dried Cranberries in Cranberry Orange Scones?
Yes! I love to use fresh cranberries in these scones, but if for some reason I don’t have them available, dried cranberries work well, too.
What If You Don’t Have Orange Zest?
To make my cranberry orange scones, I included both orange zest as well as juice in the scone as well as in the glaze to really bring out the orange scent and flavor in these scones. You can adjust the amount to suit your preference by backing off the zest in the glaze if you like, but I can’t even begin to tell you how much I love all that citrusy deliciousness in these!
You can omit it from this recipe if you don’t have it available. The orange flavor will not be as pronounced, but the scones will still be delicious!
How Long Do Cranberry Orange Scones Last?
Store on the counter for up to 3 days or in the refrigerator for up to 5.
Can You Freeze These Scones?
Yes! Allow to cool completely and then store in an airtight, freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. To serve, allow to thaw and then serve at room temperature or warm in the microwave or in the oven at 350º F for about 5 minutes.
Other Favorite Scone Recipes
Here’s my Cranberry Orange Scones recipe. I hope you enjoy them as much as we do!
Cranberry Orange Scones Recipe
Ingredients
Cranberry Orange Scone Recipe:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup sugar + more for topping
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup cold butter
- 1/2 cup fresh cranberries
- ¾ – 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon orange juice
- 1 tablespoon orange zest
Orange Glaze:
- 1 cup confectioner’s sugar
- 3-4 tablespoons orange juice
- 1 tablespoon orange zest
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400º F. Line a rimmed baking sheet pan with parchment paper or a nonstick baking sheet.
For the scones:
- Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Add butter to the bowl and cut into the flour with a pastry blender until the largest pieces of butter are about the size of a pea and the flour mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in cranberries, ¾ cup of heavy cream, orange juice, and orange zest. Press dough together between the palms of your hands. If it doesn’t just hold together, add more heavy cream until is just holds together.
- Pour dough onto a lightly floured countertop or a pastry board. Pat dough into a large round disc, about an inch thick. Cut dough into equal sized wedges and place onto prepared baking sheet pan. Melt about 2 tablespoons butter and brush on top of dough.
- Bake scones for 20-25 minutes or until they are just beginning to turn lightly brown. Remove from the oven.
Orange Glaze:
- Whisk all of the glaze ingredients together in a medium sized bowl until smooth and then drizzle on top of each scone after it has cooled for about five minutes.
Nutritional Information
Enjoy!
Robyn xo
Robyn, these are gorgeous! Pinned for Christmas morning. Thanks.
Thank you so much, Mary! I hope you enjoy them! xo
I just made these scones, they were delicious!
Your photographs are stunning. I can’t wait to make this!
Aww, thank you, Jennifer! I hope you love them!
Thanks for this recipe. So easy and scrumptious! I made it this morning and it was a big hit with everyone in my family!
Loved the video.
Oh goodness, I’m so glad you enjoyed them this morning! And I appreciate you checking out the video! I was fun!
These turned out so nice! I’m lactose intolerant, so I used coffee creamer (Italian Sweet Cream) in place of heavy cream, and the taste and texture is perfect. They’re bigger than I thought they would be, so next time I’ll cut them into smaller wedges. I’ll make these again soon!
Thanks, Joanne, for the tips on how you make these lactose-free.
How beautiful – and delicious – these look, Robyn! I think I found a treat for Christmas morning!
I love the video!
Thanks so much, Leigh! I hope they make your Christmas morning super easy and delicious! I appreciate you checking out the video! xo
A friend of mine makes a s similar recipe, they are so good.
Is there a way to prepare these ahead of time? Or are they best prepared and baked the same day? Making these for Christmas breakfast.
Hi Stephanie,
I definitely love them warm on the day they are made, but they are still delicious if you make them ahead.
I made them ahead and put in the freezer, unbaked. Do I follow the same baking instructions or should I thaw them first? Thank you so much! Really looking forward to having these!?
Robin, I made these scones last night to see if they would be good for a Christmas evening supper. I like them, but was expecting a much drier scone like the ones I buy at the bakery. These were on a softer side, between a biscuit and traditional scone. I revisited the recipe and believe I did everything correctly. Do you know anything I could try to get them to be a little drier/harder texture? Thanks for all your Add a Pinch recipes. Really enjoy trying the new things.
Hi Kathyrn,
They are a bit more moist than a traditional scone. To get them to a drier texture, you would want to increase the amount of flour by another cup and increase the baking powder another teaspoon and a half as well. I hope that helps!
For some reason, I cannot successfully pin this post. I’ve been trying for thirty minutes. I even tried finding it on your Pinterest boards but couldn’t. The error is that it cannot fetch the image. I have tried all the images in the post.
I made these and they were delicious. My neighbors, daughter and son-in-law said they were more moist than any the have bought at any bakery. They said I can make them anytime I want.
My wife made these for Christmas and it’s become our favorite Cranberry Orange Scone recipe.
Love, love, love!! So much better than the “drier” scones… Made them today. Will be making them again tomorrow. Thanks so much!
I took these to my Bible study last week and people said they were the best scone they’d ever had….coming from ladies who are older than me and are well-versed in baking! I’m taking the recipe to share with them this week since I had many requests. Thanks for making it available to print from your website…I’m printing directly from here so that all your information is on it.
Oh my goodness. That’s the best sort of compliment there is, isn’t it?! Thank you so much for sharing the recipe with them. I hope they enjoy making them, too! xo
Have you tried these with dried cranberries?
Hello! I made these with dried cranberries (fresh cranberries are super expensive right now) and they turned out wonderfully. Not as colorful and that burst of juicy flavor you get with fresh berries, but still really delicious!
I brought these to my church’s Easter brunch potluck and they were a definite hit! I made 16 and they were still pretty big so I’ll probably make them smaller next time. They taste like the scones at Starbucks 🙂
Best scones ever!!! Love these so much more than the “drier” scones. I made these Christmas morning and again this weekend. Cannot get enough of these scones!! Could I replace the cranberries with raspberries or other frozen fruit?
Love these! I’ve used them as the base for all sorts of other scones (lemon blackberry, fig and honey goat cheese, etc) and they’re phenomenal.
I do substitute gluten free flour blends, and add 1 tsp of x-gum. Fantastic recipe, thank you!
What else can I use in place of the heavy cream? Buttermilk? Greek yogurt? Thanks
Hi Dawn,
I’ve not substituted for the heavy cream in this recipe. I hope you enjoy the scones – they are delicious! Thanks!
After seeing these show up in Incredible Recipes, this week, decided it was a great way to use up some fresh cranberries. Made them this morning, and they were a hit!! I doubled the cranberries only because I wanted to use them up. I didn’t have fresh oranges, so I used McCormick ‘ s Valencia Orange Peel. I used the amount your recipe calls for. Don’t do what I did!!!! It’s fine in the scones, but was way too bitter in the glaze. Even adding a bunch more powdered sugar, there is still kind of a bitter aftertaste to the glaze. Next time if I don’t have real oranges for the zest, there will be no zest in the glaze! And I will be making them again!! Best recipe for scones, I have ever used. Thanks!!!
So glad you liked them, Deb! Thanks so much! xo
This is the best cranberry orange scone recipe I’ve tried! We love the combination of flavors and I’ve tried several recipes for breads, etc. and this is hands down our favorite.
Just thought I would chime in and let everyone know that you can replace the heavy cream by blending 3/4 cup regular milk with 1/3 cup melted butter. Use what you need from this mixture. I do this often as I rarely have heavy cream. This works great for recipes but is not a substitute for whipping.
I’m so glad you enjoy them, Terri! They are some of our favorites too! Thanks! xo
They burnt after 20 minutes in 400 degrees F. I should have kept them in the oven for 10-15 minutes maximum. They are also too dry, because they burnt.
Hi Dina,
I’m sorry they 20 minutes at 400º F didn’t work for you. It is the perfect temperature and amount of time for my ovens, but with that said, ovens do bake differently depending on altitude, temperature calibration, etc.
Perfect recipe.!,! 20 min is just right. Light but not too fluffy. I DOUBLED (PLUS) the cranberries & needed another TB liquid. My go to recipe for my favorite sweet snack.
I love these scones too, Brenda and I’m so happy you do as well! Thanks! xo
I have always been slightly intimidated by making scones, but your recipe is simple and straightforward. I have made then twice so far, and both times they have turned out great! Thanks you!
I’m so glad you are enjoying them, Sarah! xo
Super simple recipe and they taste amazing. This was my first time making scones and I’ll definitely make these again!
Wonderful to hear, Wendy! So glad you enjoyed them! xo
Have you ever used frozen cranberries? Fresh are out of season right now!
Yes, you can use frozen cranberries Linda. Just thaw them in refrigerator (be sure to drain well after thawing) before using. Enjoy them! So delicious! xo
These scones are absolutely delicious! Easy to make and will wow everyone who tastes them. I didn’t have any cream and used whole milk instead – perfection!! Would give them 10 stars if I could.
Oh yay, Susan! I’m so glad you loved them. Aren’t they fabulous!? I love making a large batch of them for the weekends and even as a make ahead for busy weekday mornings. Delish!
These were delicious! I used half WW flour and I only had half and half, but they were so yummy! I will make these again, soon!
Amazing recipe. Just the right airy soft scone.
I need to work on using two cookie sheets
My first batch all ran together. Other than that
Super good!
So good! This is a new favorite. As a shortcut, w used a food processor to combine butter into the dry ingredients.
Glad you liked them! Thanks Chris!
I would call myself a very inexperienced baker but I decided to try this out after googling what I could do with my leftover fresh cranberries. I had all the ingredients (except I used clementines instead of regular oranges) and they turned out perfectly! I also doubled the amount of cranberries just to use them up. My husband was incredibly impressed and the scones were delicious. I had to manually cut up the butter since I don’t own a pastry blender, but it was easy and turned out great. Thank you for the recipe Robyn, I’m going to start following your blog and trying out your recipes!
I’m very happy you found the blog and that you and your husband enjoyed the scones! It’s great to have you here! Hope you find many more recipes that you will enjoy! Thanks!xo
loved these scones! been looking for a recipe that wasn’t a rock but also wasnt like a cake or muffin! perfect texture, moist, dense like a scone should be in my opinion!
thanks!!
Thanks so much! Glad you enjoyed them!
Thinking of making these as one of the breads for a ladies salad luncheon – sounds like it would go well with chicken salad, congealed salad and veggie salad -all arranged on a plate with fresh fruit.
I think you’ll enjoy them, Jane! They are delicious! xo
Robyn….I just made them and my husband just loved them, said it was one of the best scones he has ever had. I told him…thanks to Add A Pinch. Thank you so much for the recipe and for sharing it.
So glad you enjoyed them, Adriana! Thanks!
Hi Robyn,
Mine name is Art. I’m a recent retiree and I’ve been in the kitchen since I’ve plenty of spare time. I’ve made some great things: pot roast, chicken and beef pot pies – family loves them!
My wife Robin, loves scones so I thought I’d try these cranberry – orange scones.
Everything went well until I peeked in the oven after 15 minutes and saw one LARGE scone made up of 8 triangles fused together!? I went through the ingredients to see if I missed anything. I did. I forgot the 1/2 teaspoon of salt — we took them out a little sooner as they were browning a lot at the edges (which had thinned out) We made and applied the glaze – and they are AWESOME. My question, was the omission of the salt the problem?
Hi Art,
It sounds like you’ve been having a great time cooking since your retirement! I’m so happy that you enjoyed the scones! I haven’t had them bake into each other like you describe. Salt does help strengthen the gluten protein in the dough, so it could have possibly have contributed to this.
I also space my scones apart about 1 1/2 to 2 inches on the baking sheet.
I hope this helps! Keep up the baking and cooking and enjoy your retirement!
Thanks!
I wish I could find fresh or frozen cranberries in February. They are gone from our local stores after the holiday season. The scones look fantastic. I printed the recipe and I will make them in November.
That is so frustrating, isn’t it?! I like to toss a few bags into the freezer right at the end of December so that I make sure to have some just in case. Can’t wait to hear how you like them when you get a chance to make them!
If I should find frozen cranberries, do I let them thaw before adding to butter/flour mixture?
Thanks for the Recipe! I just baked beans and pop them into the oven at 400°. It looks like the dough is getting watery now, basically the scones are not in the shape that they originally were in. Did I do something wrong here?
Hi Mona,
I’ve never had this dough to get “watery”. I’m sorry if that happened, but don’t know why it did. Thanks!
Hi, I love to bake and was dying for a scone, so when I tried these, I had no heavy cream, or whole milk as I use the 2%. The dough was very moist, I had to use flour to handle the dough and get them on the cookie sheet with the parchment paper. Maybe I should try adding more flour?
Hi Cynthia,
It could possibly be that you didn’t use heavy cream – 2% milk has a much thinner consistency and might not have the desired results. Hope this helps! xo
These were perfect! followed the recipe as published except used turbinado sugar instead of glaze. Just sprinkle the sugar on top after you have brushed with melted butter. I freeze my butter and then grate on box grater, works wonderful. I liked this recipe because not as dry & crumbly as more traditional scones, My friend cut one in half and then proceeded to eat the rest of that one & another one after! She loved them, as did I! Thank you, this will be my go to recipe in the future. Looking forward to trying different berries, Blueberries and Lemon next, I will use the glaze on them because I love Lemon!!!
Thanks, Lise. I think you will love my Lemon Blueberry Scones Recipe.
Made the cranberry scones. They were a huge hit with my family. Can’t believe they were so easy to make and I avoided making scones for so long. Your recipe was perfect. Used half and half. So delicious!! Making the Lemon Blueberry next.
Thanks, Marion! I hope you like the lemon blueberry ones just as much.
Looking for breakdown of recipe: Calories, carbs, fat etc
The nutrition facts have been added to the recipe, Marty.
Easy and yummy!
I shredded my cold butter first and this being my first experience making scones, they turned out fantastic. My granddaughter kept eating them.
Amazing… love them!
how many cranberries do i use if dried? thanks
Carol, the rule of thumb when substituting dried cranberries instead of fresh ones is to use about 1/2 the amount of dried as you do fresh. However, I have had comments where people substituted one for one and said their scones were delicious.
I made these and so very good. I was asked to make these for
Christmass brunch. Just wonderful
Thank you, Beverly. I’m thrilled that you were asked to make these for your Christmas brunch.
Can I use buttermilk instead of heavy cream?
I haven’t made these with buttermilk, Claudine, but I don’t see why you couldn’t. It may change the flavor slightly.