Here’s a classic Cranberry Orange Scones recipe that’s perfectly buttery, flaky, and bursting with citrus and tart cranberry flavor. I’ll include glaze options too if you want to go all out!
1/2 cup (1 stick / 113g) cold unsalted butter, cubed
1/2 cup (120ml) cold heavy cream (plus more for brushing)
1 large egg
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries (no need to thaw if frozen)
Optional Orange Glaze:
1/2 cup (60g) powdered sugar
1–2 tbsp fresh orange juice
Extra orange zest for garnish
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Mix dry ingredients: In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, orange zest, baking powder, and salt.
Cut in butter: Add cold cubed butter and cut it in using a pastry cutter or fork until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs (pea-sized butter chunks are perfect).
Add wet ingredients: In a small bowl, whisk together the cream, egg, and vanilla. Pour into the flour mixture and gently stir until just combined (do not overmix).
Fold in cranberries: Add cranberries and gently fold them in. If the dough feels too sticky, sprinkle with a bit more flour.
Shape the dough: Turn the dough onto a floured surface, pat into a 6–8 inch circle (about 1-inch thick), and cut into 8 wedges. Transfer to baking sheet.
Brush tops with a bit of heavy cream for a golden finish.
Bake for 18–22 minutes, or until golden brown on top and cooked through. Cool on wire rack.
Optional glaze: Mix powdered sugar and orange juice until smooth. Drizzle over cooled scones and top with extra zest.
Tips:
Want even more orange flavor? Add a bit of orange extract to the dough or glaze.
Don’t overwork the dough—less mixing = flakier scones.
You can freeze unbaked scones and bake straight from the freezer (just add ~2 minutes to baking time).
