Cranberry Orange Scones

These deliciously tender Cranberry Orange Scones can be made with fresh or frozen cranberries and orange zest for a festive treat year round. You can even make them with leftover cranberry sauce. They make the perfect breakfast alongside Starbucks® Sweet Mornings Blend coffee.

This post has been sponsored by Nestlè Coffee Partners. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Whenever I hear “cranberry,” I immediately think Thanksgiving. But these amazingly tender Cranberry Orange Scones are going to be your favorite scones year round. Give them a try, and I promise you will be hooked!

Are these scones the same as the discontinued Starbucks cranberry scones?

I love Starbucks for their coffee first and foremost, but they also have delicious pastries in the café. My favorites are the lemon pound cake and the cranberry orange scone. This cranberry scone recipe has been developed to resemble the Starbucks® scones as closely as possible, as I remember it.

The scones I remember eating have a layer of cranberry jam in the middle and not just cranberries sprinkled throughout. I thought that was the most distinct feature I needed to highlight in this recipe. These scones are perfect with a cup of Starbucks® Sweet Mornings Blend, a new coffee blend made specifically for sweet breakfast food, available at your local Kroger and Kroger banner stores.

If you love savory breakfast food, they also make a Starbucks® Savory Mornings Blend. Both of these blends are delicious and smooth brewed hot or cold, black or with cream and sugar and are available in ground coffee or K-Cup® pods.

How to make Cranberry Orange Scones

Cranberry Orange Scones Process Photos Step 1 – 2

1. Add ¼ cup of sugar to a medium mixing bowl. Use a zester to grate the orange peel and let it fall into the bowl.
2. Use your fingers to rub the orange zest and sugar together to release the oil. Alternately, use a whisk to mix the zest and the sugar together. Set aside.

Cranberry Orange Scones Process Photos Step 3 – 4

3. Cut the same orange in half crosswise and juice it. Add the orange juice to a small saucepan along with the cranberries and ¼ cup of sugar.
4. Cook cranberries over medium heat until jammy, about 6 minutes, stirring frequently using a rubber spatula. Set aside to cool.

Cranberry Orange Scones Process Photos Step 5 – 13

5. In a measuring cup, add the egg. You can use a large egg, which will yield just a smidge under 2 oz of liquid, or an extra large egg, which will yield just about 2 oz of liquid.
6. In the same measuring cup, add enough buttermilk to fill 1 cup. Add vanilla extract, and beat to combine. Set aside.
7. In the bowl with the orange sugar mixture, add flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder.
8. Mix with a whisk to combine.
9. Toss the cubed butter in the flour mixture.
10. Work the butter into the flour with the tip of your fingers until about large pea size. Alternately, you can use a pastry blender or or a fork to cut the butter into the flour.
11. Make a well in the middle of the flour mixture and pour in the egg mixture that was set aside earlier, reserving about 2 tablespoons to use as egg wash.
12. Fold with a spatula or wooden spoon until a wet dough forms.
13. Turn the dough out onto a well-floured board, pat the dough out to about ½” thick and fold it over itself. Do this a few times to create layers. Shape into a rectangle. With a rolling pin, roll the dough out to about 20”x6”.

Cranberry Orange Scones Process Photos Step 14 – 19

14. Spread the cranberry filling right down the middle.
15. Use a pizza cutter to cut it into 8 strips about 2.5”x6”.
16. Fold one edge over the cranberry filling.
17. Brush a little egg wash on top.
18. Fold the other edge over it.
19. Place the scones on the prepared baking sheet, brush the top with egg wash and sprinkle with turbinado sugar.

Bake these scones until the top is golden brown. Let them cool slightly before serving, but they taste amazing fresh out of the oven. Enjoy them warm with a cup of Starbucks Sweet Mornings Blend for a quick breakfast. Starbucks Sweet Mornings Blend is new at Kroger and Kroger banner stores, so you can pick it up and discover your own perfect pairing!

Types of cranberries to consider for these Cranberry Orange Scones

What if I don’t have fresh cranberries? Can I use frozen cranberries?

Absolutely, both fresh and frozen cranberries will work for this recipe. You don’t need to defrost the frozen cranberries, and there isn’t any special consideration. They can be used in this recipe interchangeably.

Can I use dried cranberries?

Because this recipe calls for cooking the cranberries into a jammy consistency, the dried cranberries will not work here without extensive modifications. The short answer is no; I wouldn’t recommend making this recipe with dried cranberries.

But if you are in a pinch and cannot find any fresh or frozen cranberries, you can use about ½ cup of dried cranberries as a mix in. I would soak them in the orange juice to rehydrate them, and then fold them into the dough.

Can I use cranberry sauce?

Cranberry sauce would be an excellent substitute in this recipe. You can use about ½ cup of sauce to replace the cooked cranberry filling. A perfect way to use up leftover Thanksgiving cranberry sauce.

If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a comment, send me a photo, rate it and don’t forget to tag me @wildwildwhisk on Instagram. I’d love to see what’s cooking up in your kitchen. Cheers!

📖 Recipe card

Cranberry Orange Scones

These deliciously tender Cranberry Orange Scones can be made with fresh or frozen cranberries and orange zest for a festive treat year round. You can even make them with leftover cranberry sauce.

5 from 2 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Bread, Breakfast, Dessert

Cuisine: American, English

Prep Time: 25 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes minutes

Servings: 8 scones

Calories: 303kcal

Author: Trang

Ingredients

Cranberry Filling

• ▢ 1 cup cranberries (fresh or frozen, 100 g)
• ▢ ¼ cup granulated sugar (44 g)
• ▢ Juice of half an orange (2 ½ tbsp, 38 g)

Scone

• ▢ ¼ cup granulated sugar (44 g)
• ▢ Zest of 1 orange
• ▢ 2 cup all-purpose flour (257 g)
• ▢ ½ teaspoon kosher salt (3 g)
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon baking soda (1 g)
• ▢ 1 tablespoon baking powder (10 g)
• ▢ 4 oz unsalted butter (114 g, cold and cubed)
• ▢ 1 extra large egg (56 g without shell)
• ▢ ¾ cup buttermilk (or enough to fill 1 cup including the egg, 183 g)
• ▢ ½ teaspoon vanilla extract (3 g)
• ▢ 1 tablespoon turbinado sugar (13 g)

Instructions

• Add ¼ cup of sugar to a medium mixing bowl. Use a zester to grate the orange peel and let it fall into the bowl.
• Use your fingers to rub the orange zest and sugar together to release the oil. Alternately, use a whisk to mix the zest and the sugar together. Set aside.
• Cut the same orange in half crosswise and juice it. Add the juice to a small sauce pan along with the cranberries and ¼ cup of sugar.
• Cook cranberries over medium heat until jammy, about 6 minutes, stirring frequently using a rubber spatula. Set aside to cool.
• Preheat oven to 400°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• In a measuring cup, add egg and buttermilk to fill 1 cup. Add vanilla extract, and beat to combine. Set aside.
• In the mixing bowl with the sugar and orange zest set aside earlier, add flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder and mix with a whisk to combine.
• Toss the cubed butter in the flour mixture and work it into the flour with the tip of your fingers until about large pea size.
• Make a well in the middle of the flour mixture and pour in the egg mixture set aside earlier, reserving about 2 tablespoons to use as egg wash. Fold with a spatula or wooden spoon until a wet dough forms.
• Turn the dough out onto a well-floured board, pat the dough out to about ½” thick, and fold it over itself. Do this a few times to create layers. Shape into a rectangle.
• With a rolling pin, roll the dough out to about 20”x6”. Spread the cranberry filling right down the middle. Use a pizza cutter to cut it into 8 strips about 2.5”x6”. Fold one edge over the cranberry filling. Brush a little egg wash on top and fold the other edge over it. (Refer to process photos 14-18 within the post)
• Place the scones on the prepared baking sheet, brush the top with egg wash, and sprinkle turbinado sugar generously over the top.
• Bake for 20 - 25 minutes until the top is golden brown.

Notes

• You can use either large size egg or extra large size egg in this recipe, just make sure to use enough buttermilk to fill 1 cup including the egg.
• Both fresh and frozen cranberries will work for this recipe. Don’t use dried cranberries, but cranberry sauce will make an excellent substitute for the cooked cranberry filling.

Nutrition

Serving: 109g | Calories: 303kcal

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