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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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Donna says
Your orange cranberry scones are absolutely amazing. I had never made scones before, but tried a double batch of these for a large family gathering out of town over the holidays. I used dried cranberries and left off the icing because we didn’t have any powdered sugar. I also prepared them ahead and put them in the freezer unbaked. We were able to pull out and bake as many as we needed at a time. They were delicious without the icing and we all agreed that they didn’t need to be iced. This recipe is a keeper!!
Chris Scheuer says
Thanks so much, Donna! I'm so happy you enjoyed them!
T Vick says
These were fantastic. Suzie mentioned that she wanted me to learn how to make scones so off to the internet I went. I came across another recipe and yours. I really liked how the butter was incorporated into your recipe and decided to use it as a trial run. I threw the other recipe away after I got two thumbs up from Suzie. I did add a sprinkle of sugar to the top of each scone before baking them and I divided the dough into just 6 portions instead of 12. The glaze was a great addition.
Chris Scheuer says
Thanks so much for sharing your results. I'm so happy you gave our recipe a try and enjoyed it!
Kathy says
I’ve never made scones before because the only ones I’ve had seemed a bit lackluster. But, I had some fresh cranberries left after the holidays and decided I’d give this recipe a try, especially since all the recipes I’ve tried from your blog have been delicious. These scones truly are ridiculously easy and ridiculously good! I baked a few and froze a few to have on hand later. I can’t wait to try the maple/pecan scones now.
Chris Scheuer says
Yay! I'm so happy to have convinced you to become a scone-lover, Kathy! I agree with you, many scones are just so-so. Thanks for sharing your results 🙂
Kim says
I can't wait to try for our church breakfast. Can you make a day ahead or will they dry out? Any helpful hints after baked? Thank you.
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Kim, the best way to make them ahead, is to prepare them the day or evening before you want to serve them, up to the baking point. Refrigerate them on a sheet pan, covered with plastic wrap. In the morning, bake as directed. You might need an extra minute or two since they will be cold to start with. Enjoy!
Mary C says
Chris, I am looking forward to trying these scones. I love all of your recipes. I have been using the ridiculously easy brioche rolls which has impressed my family this Christmas. Another favorite was the ridiculously easy cinnamon rolls which saved me the day after Christmas. I always make yeast cinnamon rolls when the grandkids are here. However, I was so exhausted from the cooking and baking I went over board doing but so enjoyed seeing them enjoy. I immediately went to my saved recipes and there it was your ridiculously easy cinnamon rolls. Can I tell you I had to make a second batch. So easy!!! I look forward to your posts. Thanks Chris!!!
Chris Scheuer says
Thanks, Mary! I love that the cinnamon rolls saved the day! I think you'll enjoy these scones too!
Debbie levy says
Hi Chris. This may be a silly question, but how do you freeze these? Put them on a baking sheet in the freezer, then put into a freezer bag? I would like to freeze these for Christmas morning. Thanks.
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Debbie, that's actually a great question. And you have the right idea. Just scoop them up on to a cookie sheet and freeze, uncovered for 1-2 hours, until they're nice and firmly frozen. Then store in a freezer bag or airtight container. Christmas morning, you can just pull them out of the freezer and put that on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake them right from the freezer, you don't need to thaw. You will need to give them a few extra minutes of baking time though. Enjoy and Merry Christmas!
Debbie levy says
Thank you Chris. Merry Christmas to you and your family.
Debbie Levy says
So I made these and froze them for Christmas morning. So easy and so good. Got rave reviews. Can’t wait to try the maple pecan scones.
Chris Scheuer says
Yay! That's awesome!
Elsa says
I have made these twice and will make another batch tomorrow to freeze. I love these scones..ate 2 the first time I made them 😋 I love that I can bake them right from the freezer. I think I will glaze them with honey butter.
Thanks again for the great recipes.
Chris Scheuer says
I'm so happy you've enjoyed these, Elsa! I understand about eating two! Thanks for sharing your results.
Judy says
Can I make this recipe as a round, scored into triangles and baked? How would the bake time need to be adjusted?
Love the melted butter/cream technique and can't wait to try it!
Chris Scheuer says
Yes, you can definitely make them that way. The baking time would be pretty similar. Just watch them towards the end and bake until they're a light golden brown.
Francie says
Have made these twice so far. They are wonderful. Do you see any problem with doubling the recipe?
Love so many of your recipes. Thanks.
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Francie, thanks for sharing your results. I don't see any problem with doubling this recipe.Enjoy!
Stephanie Lattrez says
I am getting hooked on your site! Everything looks amazing and a butternut squash soup as well as these are now tested and truly lived up to and exceeded expectations. I am testing the rest of the batch from frozen as you suggest this morning. These were such a huge hit. Normally a white chocolate raspberry scone kind of girl, but these are giving them a run for their money.
Chris Scheuer says
Aww... thanks so much, Stephanie! Have a great Thanksgiving!
Denise Ryan says
Didn’t have anything orange so I used lemon with cranberries....Delicious! Thank Chriss
Chris Scheuer says
Awesome! That sounds wonderful too! Thanks for sharing!
Margie says
Wow! I This is the third of your recipes that I have tried, and ALL have been outstanding. You rock!
Julia says
Hi Chris! I do love your recipes and especially this shortcut that saves the cutting in of the butter. Always such a laborious task but now, made easy. I am planning to try this recipe for a Christmas/Birthday Tea. Just wondering though, what do you like to serve with these? Devonshire Cream? Lemon Curd? A flavored butter? I am looking forward to this great fall flavor combination!
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Julia, they're wonderful with just a bit of butter and I really love Irish butter. Devonshire Cream or clotted cream would be fantastic. And honey butter would be amazing!
ENJOY!
Jennifer @ Seasons and Suppers says
One of my favourite flavour combinations and I love your ridiculously easy recipes! Can't wait to try these 🙂
Margie says
so Easy and tasty! Trial run today. Will make and freeze for Christmas morning. Simplify, simplify, simplify!
Chris Scheuer says
Thanks Margie! So happy you enjoyed them!
Margie says
I am a thecafesucrefaine beginner. Your pot de creme recipe won me over 100%. Can’t wait to try the scones tomorrow morning when my neighbors will be coming for coffee!
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Margie, welcome to The Café!
Lorna Fenton says
Hi Chris,
These look great - I urgently need to plant a cranberry bush!
I am interested that you call these scones, but other similar recipes you call biscuits. (This was a great confusion to me for years, as American books often refer to biscuits and gravy or baked beans and biscuits, which in our part of the world conjures up visions of chocolate chip biscuits - which you would call cookies - dipped in gravy or beans!!!) What , for you is the difference between a scone and a biscuit? I would consider all of your 'biscuits' to be scones, and love the melted butter technique when I'm in a hurry, rather than the traditional 'rubbing in ' of butter.
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Lorna, it is confusing. Especially if you live in England where (what we call) cookies are called biscuits. Here in America, biscuits and scones are similar. Scones are generally made with cream where many biscuits are made with buttermilk. Biscuits are often eaten as a breakfast "sandwich" and layered with eggs, sausage, bacon, etc. Scones here are generally sweeter and are also eaten for breakfast or as a snack. Scones here are also often cut into triangular shaped wedges. I took the easy route here and made what is called "drop scones".
I hope this has cleared things up a bit.
My daughter lived in London for 7 years so I understand the confusion.
Barbara Dominey says
This looks perfect for a New Year's Day brunch! If I were freezing the unbaked scones, would I need to thaw them before baking? How will this affect the baking time/temp? Thanks!
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Barbara, nope, they can go right from the freezer to the oven. Just add a few extra minutes to the baking time.
Tricia B says
We love cranberry scones and these look fantastic! So easy and no doubt delicious. Pinned 😉
Chris Scheuer says
Thanks, Tricia! 💕
Liz says
I love these flavors in quick bread, so your beautiful scones will also be a hit on Thanksgiving morning! xo
Linda says
Hi Chris,
Do you think it would work using almond milk instead of the heavy cream. Thanks so much, Linda
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Linda, I haven't tried that so I don't want to say for sure. My guess would be that you just wouldn't get the same flaky, tender texture.
Sandra says
Can frozen cranberries be used instead? If so would any modifications be necessary?
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Sandra, yes you could definitely use frozen cranberries. I would not add thaw them much at all though as there would be too much liquid.. Just chop them and add them to the flour. The only problem I can see is that the dough might be a little harder to stir with the frozen berries.
Michael King says
The “cold cream-melted butter” technique is genius. I made my first scones a couple months ago that called for cutting in the cold butter with a pastry knife. After that escapade I decided I won’t be doing that again anytime soon. With your technique I’ll look like the Pillsbury Doughboy in no time from having scones frequently.
Chris Scheuer says
Haha! Be careful though, if you eat too many of these wonderful scones, you will literally look like the Pillsbury Doughboy!
Beverly says
Too funny. Made orange cranberry scones from another site. Then made the maple pecan (3rd time) and thought I am going to try making an orange cranberry using your maple pecan as the base, and you did it for me !! Can’t wait to try since I didn’t care for the other ones.
Chris Scheuer says
Haha! See? Your wish is my command! 🙂
Katherine says
This recipe sounds amazing. I look forward to making it in the morning. Thank you for sharing it with us!
Chris Scheuer says
You're welcome, Katherine! I love these super easy recipes and love sharing them with all of you! 💕 Chris
Jenn Anderson says
I love your ridiculously easy series!! Can't wait to make these!
Chris Scheuer says
💕 Thanks, Jenn!