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Cranberry Orange Scones are the best scones around! Super moist batter is studded with dried cranberries and flavored with orange zest!
I’ve always had a sort of love-hate thing about scones. In theory, I love them and really, what’s not to love? A delicious, airy, lightly sweetened or sometimes savory pastry made with lots of butter. But most of the time, the scones I’ve eaten have been too dry and too heavy – a total disappointment.
And then this recipe for Cranberry Orange Scones came into my life. My sister-in-law Pam made these scones one time when our family was visiting, and one bite into it – I knew that we had struck gold. They were tender and almost flaky, moist, perfectly sweetened, and warm out of the oven…the scones I had always dreamed of!
We’ve made these scones with dried cranberries and a little orange zest but the recipe can actually be varied based on what you have in your pantry – raisins, currants, chocolate chips, etc.
I should note that this batter is very dense and sticky, so a powerful stand mixer works best. If you are using a hand mixer, as you get toward the final steps in mixing the ingredients, you might need to finish mixing by hand.
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Cranberry Orange Scones
Cranberry Orange Scones are the best scones around! Super moist batter is studded with dried cranberries and flavored with orange zest!
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 pound unsalted butter (2 sticks), softened
- 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon orange zest (about 1 large orange)
- 3 large eggs
- 1/3 cup plain yogurt (do not use fat-free yogurt if possible)
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries (or raisins, currants, chocolate chips, berries, etc)
Instructions
- Whisk together flour and baking powder in a medium sized bowl.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter until creamy. Add sugar and beat 3 minutes on high until pale and fluffy.
- Add orange zest and mix until blended. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
- Slowly add the flour and baking powder mixture into the egg mixture and mix until blended.
- Then add yogurt, again mixing until blended. Add cranberries and mix until blended throughout the dough.
- Refrigerate for at least 45 minutes. (This recipe may be made in advance and refrigerated overnight.)
- When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Filling a 1/3 cup measuring cup, make scones and form into round balls. Place on ungreased cookie sheet.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Then turn the oven down to 325 degrees and bake for 10-13 minutes more until lightly golden.
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Wow , the absolute best scones I ever made!!! You beat my granny’s recipe from Ireland/ the test for me is the next day, scones are typically dry and hard the next day, but these scones were moist for three days kept in sealed plastic bag. And the orange glaze, I poked holes with a toothpick and let the glaze settle into the scone.
Thanks so much Kathleen!