Gluesticks Blog

menu icon
go to homepage
  • Recipes
  • DIY
  • About Me
  • Subscribe
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • Recipes
    • DIY
    • About Me
    • Subscribe
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
  • ×
    Home » Recipes » Bread » Quick Bread

    Cranberry Orange Scones With Orange Glaze (Video)

    November 30, 2021 By Brandy 2 Comments

    ↓ Jump to Recipe

    Cranberries, freshly squeezed oranges, and cold butter are the key ingredients to this deliciously light and fluffy cranberry scones recipe. You’ll love the sweet and tangy flavor combination. Perfect for a holiday breakfast or brunch! This post contains an affiliate link.

    You might also like our blueberry scones with lemon glaze or our white chocolate raspberry scones! 

    cranberry scones on parchment paper

    Watch our step by step video!

    cranberry scones on parchment paper

    Cranberry Orange Scones

    There’s nothing better than a warm home-baked pastry on a Saturday morning. I love comfort foods, especially this time of year. Muffins, quick breads, scones---I don't discriminate.

    I never cared for scones until I started making them myself. They always seemed so dry! I used the same recipe that I've used for years for making blueberry scones, and swapped out a couple of ingredients to make a delicious cranberry version. Tart cranberries, sweet orange juice, and a finger-licking-good glaze. Don't skimp on the glaze, it is a great balance to the tart cranberries.

    You can make these with fresh, frozen, or dried cranberries. I like using fresh cranberries because they are easy to find this time of year and I love the flavor. If you use dried cranberries you can use less of them. They are sweeter, too. I'd probably use half the amount of cranberries if using dried.

    For the orange flavoring you'll need the zest from one orange, and ¼ cup of orange juice for the glaze.

    scones on parchment paper

    Cranberry Orange Scones Ingredients

    • 2 ¼ cups all purpose flour
    • ⅓ cup granulated sugar
    • 2 teaspoons baking powder
    • ½ teaspoon baking soda
    • ½ teaspoon salt
    • orange zest (from 1 orange, about 1 Tablespoon)
    • 1 stick of butter (COLD)
    • 1 cup fresh cranberries (can also use frozen or ¾ cup dried)
    • 1 egg
    • ¾ cup milk

    Glaze

    • ¼ cup orange juice
    • 1 ¼ cup sifted powdered sugar
    • 1 teaspoon honey

    How To Make Cranberry Orange Scones

    1. Mix dry ingredients together in a medium bowl. Add orange zest. Add frozen, grated butter. Blend with a pastry cutter (can also pulse in food processor).
    2. Stir in berries.
    3. Beat milk and egg together and mix into the flour mixture until dough forms. It will be STICKY.
    4. Press dough onto floured surface and form a 10-12" disc. Cut into 8 triangles/wedges.
    5. Bake scones on a baking sheet for 20 minutes or until golden brown.
    6. Mix orange glaze ingredients and drizzle glaze over slightly cooled scones.

    grated cold butter

    COLD Butter for Scones

    Cold (or frozen) butter is the KEY for making delicious scones. Grate 1 stick of COLD butter using a cheese grater, and place it in the freezer while you gather the rest of your ingredients and preheat the oven. As soon as you're ready to add the butter to the dry ingredients, pull it out of the freezer. It will be the perfect temp for blending into the flour.

    fresh cranberries in bowl with dry ingredients

    Once the dry ingredients and orange zest have been mixed, and the butter blended into it, add the cranberries. Toss the dry ingredients with the cranberries.

    Mix the egg and milk together then stir into your dry ingredients.

    A dough whisk is my favorite kitchen tool. It mixes scone dough, muffin batter and bread dough like a champ!

    sticky cranberry orange scone batter

    Scone Dough is Sticky

    Scone dough is sticky, that's normal. Sprinkle flour over your work surface, and hands, and press the dough into a disc.

    scone dough cut into triangles

    Cut into 8 triangles with a knife.

    unbaked scones on baking sheet

    Use a spatula to transfer scones to a baking sheet, lined with parchment paper. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.

    While the scones slightly cool, mix glaze ingredients together. Drizzle (generously) scones with glaze. Serve warm. The glaze will soak into the warm scones.

    scones on parchment paper

    Warm, sticky, sweet, tangy---these scones are perfection!

    Store leftover scones in an airtight container and warm leftovers in the microwave for a few seconds.

    Optional Add-Ins for Scones

    This recipe is delicious on it's own, but here are some yummy variations that you can try.

    • Add a handful of white chocolate chips to scone batter.
    • Add a small amount of vanilla extract or orange extract to the batter.
    • Brush unbaked scones with heavy cream and sprinkle with coarse sugar before baking.
    • Brush with melted butter right after baking, and before glazing.

    Cranberry Orange Scone Recipe

    scones on parchment paper

    Cranberry Orange Scones With Orange Glaze

    Cranberry Orange Scones
    5 from 1 vote
    Print Pin Rate
    Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 25 minutes minutes
    Total Time: 40 minutes minutes
    Servings: 8 scones
    Calories: 448kcal

    Ingredients

    • 2 ¼ cup all purpose flour
    • ⅓ cup sugar
    • 2 teaspoons baking powder
    • ½ teaspoon baking soda
    • ½ teaspoon salt
    • 1 zest of an orange (about 1 Tablespoon)
    • ½ cup COLD butter 1 stick
    • 1 ½ cups cranberries fresh or frozen (¾ cup dried)
    • 1 egg
    • ¾ cup milk

    Icing

    • ¼ cup orange juice fresh squeezed
    • 1 ¼ cup powdered sugar sifted
    • 1 teaspoon honey

    Instructions

    • Grate 1 stick of COLD butter using a cheese grater, and place it in the refrigerator or freezer while you gather the rest of your ingredients and preheat the oven. As soon as you're ready to add the grated butter to the dry ingredients, pull it out of the freezer.
    • Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda in a large bowl. Add orange zest.
    • Pull the grated butter out of the refrigerator or freezer. Mash grated butter into flour mixture with pastry cutter or fork until it resembles coarse crumbs.
    • Fold in cranberries.
    • Beat egg and milk with a fork in a small bowl. Stir into flour/cranberry mixture.
    • Gently turn out dough on a floured surface and press into a 10″ round disc with your hands or a rolling pin. You don’t need to knead or work the dough. The less you handle the dough, the better. Flour your hands or rolling pin if you need to since it is a sticky dough.
    • Slice into 8 triangles.
    • Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes on parchment lined (or greased) baking sheet.
    • Cool 5 minutes before drizzling with orange glaze.
    • For the glaze: Combine ingredients and drizzle over scones. Glaze will soak into warm scones.

    Notes

    The key to a perfect scones recipe is all in the butter. Grate your COLD butter with a cheese grater and add it to your flour mixture.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 448kcal
    Share
    Pin

    More Bread Recipes

    • easy sweet roll recipes
      13 Easy Sweet Roll Recipes
    • collage of pumpkin recipes to make
      18 Pumpkin Recipes To Make This Fall
    • frosted lemon loaf cake with lemon slices
      Easy Lemon Loaf Cake Recipe (Video)
    • container of powdered donuts
      Homemade Powdered Sugar Donuts

    About Brandy

    Welcome! I'm Brandy, mother to 5 darling kiddos and a cute black lab named Toby. My husband is in the Coast Guard so we've lived all over the place, turning each house into a home. I love baking, sewing, making cute things with my kids, and sharing what I've learned with all of you!

    Comments

    1. CC says

      December 30, 2021 at 12:59 pm

      This recipe is one of the most delicious scones ever! I used dried cranberries. It was so sticky that I patted it into one large scone. It was very golden after 20 minutes. Thanks for sharing fun content on your blog.

      Reply
      • Brandy says

        December 30, 2021 at 7:07 pm

        I’m glad you enjoyed it! It is definitely a sticky dough!

        Reply
    5 from 1 vote (1 rating without comment)

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    Welcome!

    I'm Brandy! I love to create and share my ideas through easy-to-follow recipes and tutorials.

    More about me

    As an Amazon Associate, I make a small commission on qualifying purchases.

    sew with me kids sewing book
    My Book

    Latest Posts

    • mini s'mores pie on white plate
      Mini S'Mores Pies
    • slab pie on white plate
      Peach Slab Pie
    • baba bar on spatula
      Frosted Banana Nut Bars
    • tray of baked cookies on parchment paper
      Martha-Stewart-Fired-Me Cookies

    Seasonal

    • M&M Cookies piled on top of each other
      Soft M&M Cookies (Soft and Thick) + Video
    • red, white and blue shortbread cookies
      Patriotic Shortbread Cookies (Video)
    • star shaped cookie with frosting and fruit
      Red White & Blue Mini Fruit Pizzas (Video)
    • Simple and Inexpensive Patriotic Wreath Tutorial

    Footer

    ↑ Back to Top

    About

    • Privacy Policy
    • Accessibility Policy

    Newsletter

    • Sign Up! for emails and updates

    Contact

    • Contact

    As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Copyright © 2025 Gluesticks Blog

    Rate This Recipe

    Your vote:




    A rating is required
    A name is required
    An email is required

    Recipe Ratings without Comment

    Something went wrong. Please try again.