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These Easy Orange Cranberry Scones are melt-in-your-mouth delicious and can be made ahead. Pop them in the oven just before serving, for easy entertaining!
I've been anxiously waiting for oranges and cranberries to appear at the market. I had the idea a while ago for a recipe for some easy orange cranberry scones and couldn't wait to try it out. I knew they would be easy and delicious because I was basing it on my Maple Pecan Scones recipe and that's been such a winner both here at The Café as well as with you, our readers.
If you check out the comments on the Maple Scone post you'll see how everyone who's tried this recipe has been super impressed with the delicious results. The recipe involves a magical (and ridiculously easy) technique that eliminates one of the more time consuming aspects of making scones. If you're familiar with our other ridiculously easy scone and biscuit recipes, feel free to skip the explanation below. If you're new here, you won't believe how easy it is and what fabulous results it brings.
This is how it works. About 15 minutes before mixing up your scones, you'll place a cup of cream in the freezer to get really cold. You'll also melt a stick of butter (I do this in the microwave, but it can also be done on the stovetop) and let it cool a bit.
During the 15 minutes, stir together your dry ingredients in a mixing bowl and add chopped cranberries and orange zest. Then, pull the cream out of the freezer and combine it with the melted butter.
As you stir this mixture with a fork you'll see the magic occur, right before your very eyes. As the slightly warm butter meets the cold, cold cream, little globules of butter are suspended in the cream. This mixture is then combined with the dry ingredients which has the same effect as the traditional method of "cutting the butter into the flour. It forms little pockets of butter in the dough which expand when baked and forms flaky, buttery layers of deliciousness. See what I mean? Magical!
These easy orange cranberry scones are drop scones. That means there's no rolling, kneading or cutting involved. You simply mix up the dough and drop scoops of it onto a baking pan. So, so easy! Ridiculously easy!
The best way to chop cranberries
The only thing that can be a little tricky about this recipe is chopping the cranberries. Fresh cranberries are delicious but biting into a whole cranberry in a muffin or scone can be a little too much. Chopping them helps distribute the flavor throughout the scones. But chopping something that’s small, round and firm can be difficult. The little round balls like to go flying everywhere but on the chopping board!
So what's the secret? There are two easy ways to chop cranberries. One is with a mini-chopper or food processor. Just throw them in, pulse a few times and you're done. I prefer to use my Vidalia Chop Wizard. I just put a handful of cranberries on the cutting grid, bring the top down in contact with the berries and give it a good firm whack. Voila! Nicely chopped cranberries.
I love my Vidalia Chopper. It's a little kitchen workhorse and timesaver for me and it's compact and easy to store between uses. I use it for chopping carrots, onions, potatoes, celery, squash, apples, pears and so much more. The bowl (base) of the chopper has measuring marks so you can measure your chopped fruits or veggies as you go.
I replace my Vidalia chopper every few years as the blades get dull or it just wears out from so much use (or you might say, abuse). But they're reasonably priced and definitely worth it. Here's a collage of the chopper in action, chopping an onion.
If you don't have a food processor and don't want to invest in a chopper, I would suggest cutting each cranberry in half and then chopping them with a sharp chef's knife. Halving them prevents the round berries from flying all over your kitchen.
These easy orange cranberry scones have a double dose of delicious orange flavor. There's bright, vibrant tasting orange zest in the scones and fresh orange juice in the simple three-ingredient glaze. You'll need one plump, juicy orange which are beginning to show up right now at the market. I like to use navel oranges as they're sweet and don't have any seeds, but any good orange will work.
Got some company coming? That's one of the best things about these scones. They can be made ahead and popped into the freezer before baking. When it's time for a nice breakfast or brunch with family or friends, they can go right from the freezer to the oven. No one will know that you weren't up at the crack of dawn, slaving over homemade scones!
Café Tips for making these Ridiculously Easy Orange Cranberry Scones
- I like to use a cookie scoop for portioning out these scones. It helps to make them consistent in shape and size. Most of the time, I use a #16 scoop which holds 4 tablespoons of dough - a perfect size scone! You could also use a large spoon to make mounds of dough. If I want larger scones, I use a one-third cup ice cream scoop (#12).
- I spray my cookie scoop with a non-stick cooking spray, which makes scooping up the scones really easy.
- I like to refrigerate my scones for at least 10-15 minutes before baking. This helps them to keep their shape in the oven. If you want to make them farther in advance, that's fine too. They can be refrigerated for several hours before baking. Any longer than that, I would pop them in the freezer.
- If fresh cranberries aren't available, you can make this recipe with dried cranberries. Use ¾ cup though as dried cranberries are more concentrated.
- This batter is quite thick. You'll want a sturdy spatula or wooden spoon to stir it. At first, it might seem like all the flour mixture will not be incorporated, but keep going. All of a sudden it will be all mixed in. Don't be tempted to add more liquid.
- If your cream mixture doesn't form the "clumps", your cream probably wasn't cold enough. You can stick the whole mixture in the freezer for another 5-8 minutes, then stir with a fork and you should see the clumps.
- You don't want to overmix scone dough. That being said since these scones don't get kneaded, be sure to make sure all of the flour at the bottom of the bowl is incorporated into the dough before scooping up the scones.
- In lieu of the orange glaze, these scones would also be delicious drizzled with the Maple Glaze from this post.
- You can make these scones several hours ahead of time. Just scoop them up onto your sheet pan, cover them with plastic wrap and pop the whole tray into the refrigerator. When ready to bake, transfer to the oven and bake as directed. They may take a minute or two longer.
- You can also make these Orange Cranberry Scones and freeze them, unbaked. Pull as many as you want out of the freezer and bake as directed, adding a few extra minutes to the total baking time. You want to look for a pretty golden brown color.
Thought for the day:
So we fix our eyes not on what is seen,
but on what is unseen,
since what is seen is temporary,
but what is unseen is eternal.
2 Corinthians 4:18
What we're listening to for inspiration:
If you enjoyed this recipe, please come back and leave a star rating and review! It’s so helpful to other readers to hear your results, adaptations and ideas for variations.
These Ridiculously Easy Orange Cranberry Scones are melt-in-your-mouth delicious and can be made ahead. Pop them in the oven just before serving for easy entertaining!
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 8 tablespoons butter
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 6 tablespoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- zest of 1 orange
- 1 ¼ cups chopped fresh cranberries
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon milk or half and half
- 3 tablespoons fresh orange juice maybe a bit more
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For the scones:
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Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper (you'll need 2 sheet pans for smaller scones). Set an oven rack on the middle level of the oven.
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Measure 1 cup heavy cream and place in the freezer while proceeding with the recipe. (You want the cream to be in the freezer for about 10 minutes.) Place butter in a microwave-safe bowl, cover with a paper towel and heat on high for 1 minute. If not completely melted, return to microwave for 10-second intervals till melted. Set aside to cool a bit while prepping other ingredients.
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Whisk flour, baking powder, sugar, zest and salt in a medium-size bowl. Add the chopped cranberries (see the note above in the post on chopping cranberries) and stir to combine.
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After heavy cream has been chilled in the freezer for 10-15 minutes, combine it with the melted butter. Stir with a fork until butter forms small clumps or globules.
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Add butter/cream mixture to dry ingredients and stir with a rubber spatula until all flour is incorporated and batter pulls away from sides of the bowl. The batter will be very thick, like cookie dough. Don’t over mix it, but you do want all the little flour bits to be incorporated.
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Spray a cookie scooper (see notes above) or large spoon with non-stick cooking spray. Scoop up scones in mounds onto prepared pan. Space the scones at least 2-inches apart to allow for some spreading.
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Refrigerate scones for at least 15 minutes or up to an hour. If you don’t have room for 2 sheet pans in your refrigerator, put them all on one to chill. Then separate before baking.
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Bake for 20-22 minutes or until light golden brown. Transfer to a wire cooling rack.
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For the glaze:
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While the scones are baking, make the orange glaze. Combine the powdered sugar, milk (or half and half) and orange juice in a medium-size bowl. Whisk well until smooth to make a thick, but drizzle-able glaze. (If the glaze is too thin, add a bit more powdered sugar, if too thick add add a little more cream.)
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Drizzle glaze over scones. If you can wait, let scones sit for 15 minutes to let glaze set before serving.
See Café Tips above in post for further instructions, substitutions and detailed tips.
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Pris says
These are yummy and easier to whip up than a ‘traditional’ scone recipe. That said, I found the texture to be a bit different from a traditional scone… maybe a tad more dense? But still a lovely treat!
Lindsay @ The Café Sucre Farine says
Thanks for your review, Pris.
Shelly says
So delicious! I ate two right away. I used frozen cranberries and gave them a rough chop with my Pampered Chef chopper.
Chris Scheuer says
Haha! Been there, done that! Thanks for sharing your review, Shelly!
Cassie Bittinger says
I would like to make these but add pistachios. How would you suggest adding pistachios to the mix in order that they will still turn out good? I am chomping at the bit to try this recipe but I really love the cranberry pistachio flavor with the orange hint! Thank you in advance!
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Cassie, I would just chop them and add them with the cranberries. Enjoy!
Judy Bouffard says
They are delicious, moist & easy to make. I used frozen cranberries, semi thawed , used my mini food chopper. I then put chopped cranberries in between several paper towels & patted moisture out of them. I have used many of your recipes with great success.
Chris Scheuer says
That's great, Judy! Thanks for letting us know.
Carol Paul says
These are so easy! I had made cranberry (fresh) and orange relish for Thanksgiving. I put the cranberries and 1quartered whole orange and 1/2 C sugar in food processor and ground. Had a little left over so I used a cup of that in your recipe. Best scones we ever tasted. Using the cold cream and melted butter is so much easier!!! SO-- I decided to try cheese scones! I left out the sugar and added 1 1/2 Cups shredded xtra sharp chedar and 1/2 tsp. garlic powder!! For Christmas brunch!! I should have made 3 batches. So,so good!!! Making more this weekend.
I would give these 10 stars!!
Chris Scheuer says
That's awesome, Carol! Thank you for letting us know!
Marcia de says
If I wanted to make mini or smaller scones, how long would they need to bake? I am terrible at "guestimating" times 🤔
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Marcia, I haven't tested this recipe with mini scones but I would check them after 10-12 minutes and then every minute or so after that until they are a nice light golden brown.
Leslie says
This sounds like a great recipe - thank you. I scrolled through the other questions to see if you'd answered whether the scone can be patted out to a round and cut in to pie serving shapes? How would it affect the baking time? Thanks!
Chris Scheuer says
You can definitely do that! The baking time will be similar, just bake until golden.
Ewa Rak says
I made these twice already. Both times delicious taste, just the second time they came out not as puffy as they should, rather flat. I kept them in refrigerator for more than 15 minutes before putting them in the oven. Do you have any idea what I did wrong?
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Ewa, honestly, it's difficult to say why they were flat without having been right there in the kitchen with you.
Glinda says
Just finished baking a batch of these this morning and having one. They are simply delicious! I have also made the Lemon Blueberry and the Maple Pecan flavors. My husband loves the lemon blueberry and up until now, that has been his favorite. Today he said, “Wow, these are good! I think they be best ones you’ve made yet!”. 😊 I made a batch of the Lemon Blueberry scones for an auction and they went for $36 a dozen! Thank you, Chris, for all of your ridiculously easy and delicious recipes! They make us cooks look great!! I hope you and your family have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Chris Scheuer says
I love that, Glinda! Thank you for taking the time to leave such a kind and thoughtful comment 🙂
Eileen says
I have made these several times, with good results. Wondering if half and half can be substituted for the heavy cream, when I don’t have any heavy cream on hand.
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Eileen, the results will be different with half and half, more biscuit-like than the melt-in-your-mouth scone texture.
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Eileen, they will be delicious but more like biscuits than scones.
Gail says
I want to make these for a bake sale. Can I make them the day before? How long will they keep?
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Gail, these are really best the day they're made but you could make the dough, freeze it in scoops then bake on the morning of the sale. They keep for a few days but, as I said, they're best on the first day.
Nancy says
Gail I make them, cool them and freeze them(minus the glaze). Before cooking I sprinkle a wee bit of sugar on top because I won’t be using a glaze. When I want a scone I simply remove it from the freezer and either put it in a 250 degree oven for a few minutes till thawed, or use my microwave thawing feature. Watch them tho in either case so they just defrost and don’t cook. I call them”scones on demand.”
Chris Scheuer says
Thanks, Nancy!
Diane says
I have made these countless times for residence where I work in the bistro and they fly off the shelf. I don’t use the glaze at all. Honestly, don’t think you need it just sprinkle some raw sugar on top before baking. These scones are as good two or three days later as they are the day they are baked in my opinion! One of my favorite and easiest recipes and well loved by everyone. I have made a few different variations using different fruits and they’re all delicious.
Chris Scheuer says
Thank you, Diane!
Cheryl says
I agree, mine are now on day 4 (in a sealed container) and still soft and yummy!
Chris Scheuer says
Thanks, Cheryl!
Cheryl says
I made these this morning and they are delicious! Will be making again. Used frozen cranberries and chopped by hand, probably the most time consuming part of the recipe for me. Butter hack was the best!
Chris Scheuer says
Wonderful! Thanks, Cheryl!
Deb Patton says
I LOVE your scone recipes, have made several of them but prefer the cranberry orange. Was hoping you'd have one for pumpkin scones as I had some leftover pumpkin from a dog biscuit recipe and not wanting to use one that grates butter. Not finding one, I used the cranberry orange recipe, reduced the cream by 1/8 cup, stirred in 1/3 cup pumpkin puree after the butter was mixed in and added 3 T flour, 1 T cornstarch, and 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice to the dry mix along with the orange zest . Reduced the chopped cranberries and added some dried currants. Used a 2 T scoop instead of 4 T and got 22 scones. They turned out delicious! Next time, I'll leave out the orange zest and juice from the glaze as it is a bit overpowering but still good. Thank you for your easy butter into cold cream idea.
Chris Scheuer says
That's great, Deb! Thanks for letting us know!
Aimee says
There are ads that won’t close in multiple places of your instructions. I hope they clear up, from the ingredients it looks great
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Aimee, I have reported this, you should be able to close any ad. Let me know if you continue to have any problems with this.
Victoria Love says
Just made black currant scones using this recipe! Omitted the orange zest and substituted 3/4 C. dried and reconstituted (soaked in hot water a few minutes, then drained) black currants for the cranberries. They were fantastic!
I froze the unbaked scones. To bake, popped them, frozen, into a 400 degree oven for 20 minutes. (I think my oven runs hot). They were delicious!
I love this method of combining the cold cream and lukewarm butter. Thank you for another winner, Chris!
Chris Scheuer says
Thank you for taking the time to leave such a nice review, Victoria! So glad you enjoyed these 🙂
Mary says
I'm going to try these as soon as I get oranges.
I tried the Lemon Raspberry scones from your site and they were great.
Thanks for the get recipes.
Chris Scheuer says
I'm so glad, Mary!
Judy Herron says
Do you use salted or unsalted nutter for the scones?
Would like to make these today. Thank you.
Chris Scheuer says
I use salted, Judy but just use what you have.
Judy says
Wow...don't know what nutter is but you understand.
Thank you for reply.
Chris Scheuer says
🙂
Dieselle says
I would love to try your recipe but add some white chocolate chips to the mix. How much by weight would I add.
Chris Scheuer says
I would start with about 3 ounces, Diselle.
Ginger Clemens says
I love scones, both the making and the eating, but have only used the tedious method of cutting the butter into the flour mix. Have used your recipe and method three times and it is a real break-through in the art of scone making. The fresh cranberries were wonderful and I'm wondering if I can use frozen berries. Will they cut while still frozen? I made and froze the last batch and can take a few out at a time to bake. You are a genius!!
Chris Scheuer says
I'm so glad you are enjoying these, Ginger! Frozen berries will work as well. I love this method too!
Margaret says
Dear Chris, I having a Ladies Tea for my residents in an assisted living facility and would love to make some mini scones from your ridiculously easy scone recipes. Because of my schedule, I was wondering if these could be baked, then frozen until a couple of hours before the tea? Thank you, I love your site, recipes, and scriptures!
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Margaret, thanks for your kind words.
Yes, you can freeze these after you bake them but you can also make them and freeze them, unbaked. Then just pop them in the oven, right from the freezer. Give them a few extra minutes in the oven and they turn out fantastic!
Diane says
More delicious than local bakery & so easy! Have made for residents at a very wealthy independent retirement home I work at & several have asked me to “sub” work out so they can keep these in their freezer all the time! Thank you!
Chris Scheuer says
That's awesome, Diane! Thanks for letting us know!
Karen Jones says
LOVE!!!! I will never go back to cutting in the flour. This method was so easy and perfect.
Chris Scheuer says
Yay! Thanks, Karen!
Holly says
Love this recipe so much! Easy enough for those who might be intimidated by baking, too.
Today, I subbed blueberries for the cranberries and lemon for the orange and it still worked well. This will be one of my go to recipes, for sure!
Thanks!
Chris Scheuer says
Awesome, Holly! Thanks for sharing your results!
Paul says
Made these following the exact directions.... including a bit more orange zest.....except tried cranberries. They were perfectly moist and delivered a great combination flavor of sweet and tart. Everyone loved them...... Y'all are the best...wish I could post a picture.......thank you.
Chris Scheuer says
Awesome! Thanks so much for letting us know, Paul!
Rosemary Takeda says
This was the best orange cranberry scone recipe that I have ever made. I love that it did not need an egg. I used a fresh orange from my tree and dried cranberries, chopped roughly, they were like candy sweet and chewy. Thank you for your recipe! It will be in my favorite Christmas recipe file.
Chris Scheuer says
Yay! Thanks so much, Rosemary!
Bob says
I made these after making the lemon blueberry scones. They've all turned out really nice having never made scones before. The trick with the melted butter poured into the super cold heavy cream has worked every time. I used mandarin type tangelo oranges. For the glaze instead of orange juice I used squeezed tangelo juice. I made the dough and freezed them over night. I placed the unbaked pre-made scones between wax paper in a Ziploc bag to freeze. How do you guys place your scones in the freezer? I am enjoying a number of your recipes!
Lindsay @ The Café Sucre Farine says
Hi Bob, so glad to hear you are enjoying the recipes! We like to freeze the scones on a baking sheet with parchment. Once they are frozen then we transfer them to a ziplock bag.
Vicki from Flat Rock says
Made these this morning and they were absolutely amazing!!!! Even more delicious and tender than the apple ones I tried a few weeks ago!! Hubby was in sugar heaven! And, fresh cranberries (chopped in food processor) worked just fine and gave a lovely tart counterpoint.
Chris Scheuer says
Awesome! Thanks for letting us know, Vicki!
Karen Lewis says
This recipe has epically failed both times when using fresh cranberries. By epic fail I mean they totally spread out flat, almost like a cookie. The first time I assumed they didn't chill long enough so the second time they chilled in the fridge over night. Still flat. I was determined to make this work because the idea is so clever. I was out of cranberries, so I used craisins instead. Then I got an absolutely perfect scone! I don't know if there's just not enough flour for the moisture in fresh cranberries? But other people had success. Adding more flour kept them from flattening, but then they didn't taste so good. So, craisins all the way for me from now on.
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Karen, so sorry you had trouble with this recipe. It’s difficult to say what went wrong without having been right there in the kitchen with you. I have only made this recipe with fresh cranberries and have had good results.