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, 3/4 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 kosher salt
- 1/2 cup cold butter
- 1/2 cup fresh cranberries
- 3/4 – 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, 3/4 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.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Enjoy!
Robyn xo
Perfect recipe.!,! Â 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
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.
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
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
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!
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!
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?
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 🙂
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
Love, love, love!! So much better than the “drier” scones… Made them today. Will be making them again tomorrow. Thanks so much!