Cranberry Orange Scones

I’m sharing one of my favorite holiday scones recipes today, cranberry orange!

I absolutely love cranberry season and am known to stock up on cranberries when I find them on sale. I love to use them in simmer pots, cranberry tea, cranberry sauce, and even freeze them for use all winter long.

In fact, just last week I bought eleven pounds of cranberries! I might be a little crazy, but my family loves all the cranberry things and they are hard to find outside of these few weeks around the holidays.

We absolutely love scones in our house. They are such a special treat for breakfast or morning tea time. In case you haven’t heard me mention it, our morning tea time is our preschool time. You can read more about this sweet rhythm in this blog post.

I use to think scones were difficult and time-consuming to make and then I realized that if you can make biscuits, you can make scones. They are really that simple.

Simple ingredients

Cranberries – Of course cranberries are the star of the show here. While you can use dried cranberries, fresh cranberries just have more flavor. Plus you get the added beauty of the bright pink color of fresh cranberries.

If you must use dried cranberries, just be mindful of the added sugar in most pre-packaged dried craberries. You may want to decrease the sugar in the scone recipe some.

Orange juice – Again, I like to use fresh squeezed orange juice. You could absolutely use pre-made orange juice, but the orange peel really makes the citrus flavor in these scones really pop.

Honey – My preferred method of sweetening baked goods. You could also convert to regular sugar or coconut sugar.

Butter – Cold butter is the secret to flaky scones.

Half-and-half – I like the richness that the half-and-half adds, but you could also use milk.

Egg – Holds things together.

Flour – I prefer to use all purpose, unbleached flour for my scones, but you can use whatever flour you prefer to bake with.

Salt – The secret ingredient in almost everything.

Baking powder – The leavening in this recipe.

How to make cranberry orange scones

Cranberry scones really are simple to make. I like to describe them as a biscuit, but sweet with additional add-ins.

First, you’ll want to mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a mixing bowl.

Next, cut in the butter with a pastry blender or fork and mix until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. One trick here is to use frozen butter and then use a cheese grater and grate in the butter.

Once the butter is incorporated into the dry ingredients, add the chopped cranberries toss the mixture lightly to coat the cranberries with flour.

Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add honey, egg, orange, juice, half-and-half, and orange peel. Gently mix the wet ingredients together and then slowly incorporate the flour mixture.

Stir until the dough comes together, but be careful not to over mix. At this point it should resemble a sticky dough.

Dump out onto a lightly floured surface and gently pat into a circle, about 8-10 inches across.

Cut into 8 wedges.

Place on a baking sheet or stone and bake at 400 for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.

How to store cranberry orange scones

Cranberry orange scones should be stored in an airtight container after they cool. They will last for 3-4 days at room temperature.

What to serve with cranberry orange scones

I love to serve these cranberry scones alongside cheesy scrambled eggs and sausage. They are also delicious on their own alongside a cup of coffee or tea.

These cranberry orange scones are a delightful addition to your holiday breakfasts. Let me know if you try them!