Scones are one of those things that I never really think about making. Maybe it’s because they seem like they are hard to make from scratch? After making these Simple Cranberry Orange Scones I know that is far from the truth.
Truthfully, we generally just buy scones or buy scone mixes. There’s a local company in Seattle that has the best scones. They can be found at the state fair or you can buy their mixes in local grocery stores. They are so good that I never needed to make my own, but I decided to try my hand at them.
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These scones are simple to put together and once you get scone making down, the possibilities can be endless. There are so many flavor combinations that you can come up with for scones, but my first thought was cranberry orange.
I have been on a cranberry orange kick and the flavors remind me of the holiday season. I’ve made cookies, a bundt cake and a pie, so why not add scones to that list! These would be perfect for a holiday or weekend brunch.
2. Scone mix-ins
3. Mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and orange zest then cut in the butter
4. Add the buttermilk, orange juice, and egg
These simple cranberry orange scones are adapted from a recipe I found on Allrecipes. I made some adjustments based our preferences and comparing it to other scones recipes I found. I definitely learned some things and after a few rounds of testing I was finally happy with the results!
How to ensure success with scones
First of all, you want to make sure that your ingredients are cold. The butter should be cubed and chilled. The buttermilk, orange juice, and egg should also be cold.
6. Turn dough out onto a floured surface
7. Shape into a 1-inch thick circle and cut
8. Place on a baking sheet and once chilled, brush with milk
Having cold ingredients means that there should be less chilling time needed for the scones before baking. Why do you need to chill scone dough? Chilling the dough is important because you don’t want your scones to spread too much while baking.
There’s no guarantee that they won’t spread, but this should help ensure they don’t spread as much. You also want to make sure that you don’t over mix the dough. You want the scones to be soft and tender.
I really like the addition of the orange juice to these scones, I think they amp up the orange flavor. I highly recommend using the orange juice, but you can also just use additional buttermilk instead.
What’s your favorite type of scone?
More brunch recipes
Mushroom Crust Quiche with Ham
Homemade Turkey Sage Breakfast Sausage
The BEST Banana Oatmeal Pancakes
Made this recipe? Be sure to comment below and rate the recipe. I’d love to hear what you thought about it!
Simple Cranberry Orange Scones
Ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour, plus additional for dusting
- 3 tbsp granulated sugar
- 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 2 tsp orange zest, from a small orange
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, cubed and cold
- 1/4 cup orange juice, 1 small orange
- 1/4 cup cold buttermilk, or milk of your choice (see notes)
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries, roughly chopped
- 1/2 cup fresh cranberries, roughly chopped
- 1 tbsp milk, to brush on the scones
Instructions
- In a large bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and orange zest.
- Add the cubed butter and using a pastry cutter or fork, cut the butter into the flour mixture until you have pea sized crumbs.
- Add the buttermilk, orange juice, and egg to the flour mixture and mix just until the dough starts to come together.
- Add in the dried and fresh cranberries, mix until evenly distributed and there are no large streaks of flour. Do not over mix as the scones can become tough.
- On a lightly floured surface, turn out your dough and lightly flour the top of the dough as well. Shape into a circle with your hand and then roll with a rolling pin to about 1-inch in thickness.
- With a sharp knife cut into 8-10 wedges, depending on how big you'd like your scones to be. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet, making sure to space 2 to 3-inches apart.
- Chill the scones for at least 15 minutes prior to baking, you want them to be as cold as possible so they don't spread too much.
- Preheat oven to 400°F and brush the chilled scones with milk right before baking. Bake for 22-25 minutes, or until golden brown on top.
- The scones are best served fresh, but you can store any leftover scones in an airtight container on the counter for 2 to 3 days.
Notes
- To make your own buttermilk, add 3/4 tsp of lemon juice or white vinegar to a measuring cup and fill up to the 1/4 cup line with milk. I used 1% milk and it worked just fine, I have not tried this with a milk alternative but I would imagine that it would work as well.
- We prefer to reheat any leftover scones in the air fryer to get them crispy again but you can also enjoy them as is.
- You can freeze any leftover scones as well, simple wrap in plastic wrap and place in a freezer bag. The scones can last up to 3 months in the freezer.
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