Warm greetings, fellow bakers and stitchers! Today, let’s step into the kitchen and indulge our senses with the delightful aroma of freshly baked Orange Cranberry Scones. Join me on this culinary journey as we explore the magic of combining zesty citrus with plump, juicy cranberries to create a treat that perfectly complements any stitching session.
I would be happy to help you with that! Here is the corrected version of the text:
This scone recipe has been a household favorite for many years. I shared it in the December 2023 edition of the Thyme for Stitching Newsletter. Not only are my kids fond of it, but also guests and visitors during tea time. These scones have a flaky and slightly moist texture, which gives them a modern twist on an old classic!
Tips and Baking Notes
I’ve always heard that scones can be challenging to make but once you master a couple of quick tips they are easy as pie! These tips work for this Orange Cranberry Scone recipe but also for any other scone recipe you come across and are often applicable to other pastry recipes as well.
Use ice cold ingredients – This is one of the best pieces of advice I can offer for scones. Ice cold butter and buttermilk or cream make all the difference in the world. You want small pockets of butter to form in your dough, when the butter melts it leaves the beautiful airy flakiness that is so needed for the perfect scone!
Keep the dough chilled – Similar to using cold ingredients and for the same reasons, you want to keep your dough chilled. I often take the dough after adding the butter and chill it before adding the wet ingredients and forming the scones. If I have time, I often pop the tray of scones in the freezer for 10 or 15 minutes before baking as well. This helps to keep the butter in the dough cold and hard.
Use your hands when adding the cold butter – I like to slice the butter into small squares and then add them to the flour mixture. I then use my fingers to pinch the small chunks of butter so the are smooshed and flattened into flakes. You can use a pastry knife to do this as well but I tend to get a more flakey result with my fingers.
Use buttermilk instead of regular milk – Recipes using buttermilk tend to have a more flakey, moist and tender dough. I would encourage your to try the recipe with both options and explore the differences. I love the results in these Orange Cranberry Scones and I always adjust scones recipes to use buttermilk instead of regular milk or cream. That being said, if you don’t have buttermilk, your scones will still be fantastic!
Freezing the scones – Scones can be frozen for later use. For best results freeze the scones before baking. I usually form the scones and place them on a parchment paper covered baking sheet. I brush them with buttermilk or heavy cream and then pop them in the freezer. Once they are frozen I place them in a sealed container or freezer bag and back into the freezer. This makes it really easy to pop out a few anytime you have guests or want a warm and flakey Orange Cranberry Scone on a Sunday morning. They can be baked directly from frozen with exactly the same results as if you had just whipped up the dough!
Fun Variations of these Orange Cranberry Scones
While these are amazing scones, it is super fun to play with other variations for different events and occasions.
Lemon Blueberry – Try substituting the orange zest and juice for lemon zest and juice and instead of cranberries, try blueberries instead. For the glaze, use fresh squeezed lemon juice instead of orange juice.
Raisin Rum – Soak 1 cup of raisins in ½ cup of spiced rum for at least 8 hours, overnight works great. If you don’t like rum or want to keep it alcohol free, you can soak them in orange juice instead. Leave out the Orange zest, juice and cranberries. Strain the raisins and keep the liquid in a separate cup. You can add the raisins into the flour mixture and toss them so they are coated in flour before you add the wet ingredients. To make the glaze use some of the reserved liquid from soaking the raisins instead of orange juice.
Apple Cinnamon – Substitute the orange zest and juice with apple juice instead. Dice one medium apple and use it instead of the cranberries. For the glaze mix 1 cup of powdered sugar with 1 tsp cinnamon and 3 tbsp of water.
Honestly, the sky is the limit so use this Orange Cranberry Scone recipe as a base and substitute away. You could try savory options as well!
Share Your Creations
Baking together can be a fun way to connect, even if it is virtually! If you’ve tried these Orange Cranberry Scones, then don’t forget to share your baking creations with all of us, using #StitchAndSavor
Orange Cranberry Scones
Ingredients
- 2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- ⅓ cup sugar
- 1 tbsp backing powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ¾ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp orange zest
- ½ cup cold butter cut in cubes
- ¾ cup fresh cranberries
- ½ cup cold fresh orange juice
- ½ cup cold buttermilk
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp heavy cream or buttermilk
- 2 tbsp coarse sugar
- Ingredients for glaze
- 1 cup confectioners sugar
- 3 tbsp fresh orange juice
- 3 tbsp dried cranberries, diced
Instructions
- To prepare the scones, start by combining flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and orange zest in a large bowl.
- Then, add ice cold cubed butter and use a pastry knife or your fingers to cut it in until it looks like coarse crumbs. Fold in fresh cranberries.
- In a separate bowl, mix orange juice, buttermilk, and vanilla together. Slowly add this mixture to the flour mixture and mix just until a dough is formed. Do not overmix! You can mix the last bit directly on a floured surface.
- Pat the dough into a circle and cut it like a pizza to make triangular shapes. Arrange the scones on a lined baking sheet and place in the freezer for 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400°F and make the glaze by whisking sugar and orange juice together.
- Brush the tops of the scones with buttermilk or heavy cream and sprinkle with coarse sugar. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown around the edges.
- Transfer the scones to a cooling rack and drizzle with the glaze. Top the scones with diced dried cranberries.
Notes
Unbaked scones can be frozen for up to 3 months. Bake from frozen for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden around the edges.
