Cranberry Orange Scones Recipe (2024)

Storekeeper2020-09-03T13:06:38-04:00

Scents of the Holidays…

There are certain aromas that become inextricably linked to the holidays. The fresh, sharp smell of a fir tree decorated with care. The spicy, sweet scent of gingerbread men cooling on the counter, waiting to be frosted. The warm, inviting fragrance of mulled apple cider, ready and waiting to thaw winter chilled friends and family. And of course, the citrusy bright perfume of cranberries and oranges.

When thinking of holidays and cranberries, it’s easy to imagine cranberry sauce in its favored place at special dinners shared with family and friends. Maybe you have a favorite savory recipe that uses the tart little berries. One of the under appreciated ways to use cranberries is in baking. You can add them to just about any recipe in place of summer berries. Depending on your tastes, you made need to adjust the amount or type of sweetness used in your traditional recipe, because cranberries can be a bit tart.

This recipe, an adaptation of Mildred Orton’s own cranberry orange scones, uses all-purpose flour instead of the original whole wheat, which gives the scones a lighter texture. The use of fresh cranberries, orange juice, and orange zest give them a burst of tartness balanced by the natural sweetness of the orange juice. Fresh from the oven on a chilly winter day, these cranberry orange scones are sure to brighten and warm you through and through.

Cranberry Orange Scones

Ingredients:

• 4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
• 1 cup sugar, plus more for sprinkling
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons baking powder
• 3/4 cups unsalted butter, frozen
• 2 cups fresh cranberries
• 1 tablespoon grated orange zest
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup fresh orange juice
• 2 large eggs
• Whole milk, for brushing

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
3. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder.
4. Using the large holes of a box grater, grate the butter into the flour mixture.
5. Mix with a fork to evenly distribute the butter. When the butter is generally absorbed, and the mixture resembles pea-size pieces, stir in the cranberries and orange zest.
6. In a separate bowl, stir together the cream, orange juice, and eggs.
7. Slowly add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and stir until a rough dough forms. Take care not to over mix.
8. Flour the surface of a wooden cutting board.
9. Turn out the dough and gently shape it into a ball, then press it lightly into a rectangle 2 to 2 1/2 inches high.
10. Using a dough cutter or a knife, cut the dough crosswise into six smaller rectangles, and then cut these into twelve equal triangles.
11. Place the triangles evenly spaced about 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets and flatten them slightly.
12. Using a pastry brush, brush the scones lightly with milk and sprinkle the tops with sugar.
13. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until lightly browned.

Tips and tricks for the best scones:

• Freezing, then grating the butter will make it easier to incorporate to your flour before it warms up too much
• Scones are much like biscuits–it’s so important not to overwork the dough or it becomes dense and unappetizing
  • Once you add your wet ingredients, only mix until just combined. The dough may still look a bit lumpy—that’s okay!
• Do not knead your dough! Once you turn the dough onto your lightly floured surface, gently pat it together and shape as quickly as possible. You don’t want to develop the gluten in the dough or melt the butter.
• The less you handle the dough the better. Trust us.
• BONUS TIP: For a little extra citrus sweetness, make a quick orange glaze of 1 cup powdered sugar and 2 tablespoons orange juice. As soon as the scones come out of the oven, drizzle the glaze over the top of the warm pastries.

Adapted from The Vermont Country Store Cookbook

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23 Comments

1. April FoggJanuary 9, 2024 at 10:34 AM - Reply

   See Also

   Oscar-Inspired Recipes

   Delicious, fresh, warm from oven and glazed.great for this time of year. Do you have the calorie per scone?
   Thanks

   • StorekeeperJanuary 9, 2024 at 3:26 PM - Reply

     Hi April, while we don’t have the exact calories for this particular recipe, we can tell you that the average calories per scone (1 medium scone – 2 1/2″ diameter) contains 22.5g total carbs, 21.6g net carbs, 6g fat, 3.3g protein, and 156 calories. Enjoy!

2. Lucille CapuanoJanuary 8, 2024 at 5:11 AM - Reply

   Do you have to use heavy cream?Could buttermilk or yogurt be substituted?

   • StorekeeperJanuary 8, 2024 at 11:12 AM - Reply

     Hi Lucille, try it out and let us know how it goes. Thanks.

3. MargaretJanuary 5, 2024 at 4:45 PM - Reply

   Will have to try them. This is the second time I purchased fruit cake and loved them both time

4. Betty GernertDecember 31, 2023 at 11:13 AM - Reply

   I order a fruitcake this year and it was the best we have had in years! We will do this next year. It was the one with bandy, bourbon, and ? Try it!

5. Deb RabesaDecember 23, 2023 at 11:14 PM - Reply

   Can I use frozen cranberry?

   • StorekeeperJanuary 2, 2024 at 3:12 PM - Reply

     Hi Deb, thanks for your question. You sure can, but we recommend thawing them and draining off any excess liquid prior to baking. Enjoy!

6. Jackie HarrisonDecember 21, 2023 at 5:21 PM - Reply

   How big is the rectangle that you sub cut into six. It just says pat to 2-21/2 inches thick.
   Thank you

   • StorekeeperJanuary 2, 2024 at 3:21 PM - Reply

     Hi Jackie, thanks for your question. The rectangle you roll your dough out into can be any size you’d like, as long as the it remains at 2-21/2″ thick throughout. Enjoy!

7. Ann MageeDecember 12, 2020 at 10:41 PM - Reply

   Do you have a cookbook for sale?

   • StorekeeperDecember 17, 2020 at 4:15 PM - Reply

     Thanks for asking! We do. Our cookbook is available here: https://www.vermontcountrystore.com/the-vermont-country-store-cookbook/product/72022

8. ShirleyDecember 9, 2020 at 10:31 AM - Reply

   I made these this morning hot out of the oven. They are fabulous. Wonderful texture flavor. I even opted to Use fresh orange juice since I had oranges home instead of bottled orange juice. I would definitely recommend using the icing glaze it adds just the perfect amount of sweetness to the scones. Again thank you these are wonderful. Oh by the way As far as grating frozen butter on a traditional box grater, after a few minutes of doing that I never realized how hard it is to grate frozen butter. Then I remembered my wonderful food processor. Threw the butter in there, pulsed a few seconds cause you don’t want to heat the butter up and it was perfect. Great recipe thank you so much.

9. Cheri PlooyDecember 6, 2020 at 12:49 PM - Reply

   I love the sound of this recipe I hope to be able to try them soon!!

10. Kathryn A DowningDecember 6, 2020 at 3:03 AM - Reply

    I sure do wish recipes this delicious could be gluten-free! Any chance? And for people with sugar issues, could it work to use erythrotol instead of sugar?

    • StorekeeperDecember 6, 2020 at 1:30 PM - Reply

      One of our favorite gluten free flours comes from right here in Vermont as well, from King Arthur Flour. They make a Measure for Measure Gluten Free Flour that works really well in most recipes. We don’t know much about erythrotol, but if you’ve used it in other recipes, it’s possible that it will work here as well. If you make these, please let us know how they come out!

11. Grondalski DorothyDecember 5, 2020 at 8:20 AM - Reply

    So awesome!! Looking forward to making these cranberry scones. Plan on giving them as a early treat to a few friends. This recipe came just in time ✨✨
    Thanks for the recipe ✨✨

12. Kathleen CarracherDecember 4, 2020 at 2:06 PM - Reply

    Thank you, I plan to make these!

    • PennyDecember 5, 2020 at 8:33 PM - Reply

      Me too

13. Peggy HeffernanDecember 4, 2020 at 9:20 AM - Reply

    Thank you so very much. I can’t wait to try this recipe.
    Do you have a recipe for Christmas Stollen?
    Much appreciated!

    • StorekeeperDecember 4, 2020 at 9:39 AM - Reply

      Thank you Ms. Herrernan!
      We don’t have a recipe for Christmas Stollen, but that’s a great idea for the future.
      Thanks for suggesting it!

14. Yvonne ChenevertDecember 3, 2020 at 4:08 PM - Reply

    I love scones and these sound wonderful !

15. IreneDecember 3, 2020 at 10:56 AM - Reply

    Thank you for this wonderful idea!