Orange Glazed Cranberry Scones are light, fluffy cranberry orange scones with apricots and an orange icing drizzle.
Can you believe this weather? It’s been really chilly. And it’s only November! My answer to that, just bake it off. Ha! Sounds like a song, doesn’t it. Anyway, if you want to bake it off, you’ve come to the right place. How about this fabulous scones recipe to warm up your kitchen.
Scones can be tricky. I’ve found that they can be dry and dense or just too bready. Do you know what I mean? This recipe is nothing like that. These scones are soft and delicate. They’re actually light and airy. And in addition to the awesome cranberry orange combo, they also have apricots which is an unexpected surprise as you bite into these beauties.
So let’s get started with the step-by-step. After you whisk together your dry ingredients and orange zest, you will cut in some very cold butter. I keep it in the fridge until right before I’m going to use it. One of my favorite tools is my pastry blender. See photo above. It makes cutting in butter super easy. If you don’t have one, you can use a fork or 2 butter knives. Once you’ve achieved a coarse meal, then you’re done with the cutting in business. Stir in berries and apricots. Next, add your cream and stir until just combined. You don’t want to over beat. Divide the dough in half. On a floured surface, press each portion into a 7″ disc (or disk, apparently the 2 words are interchangeable). The dough will be sticky so you will need to handle it with floured hands. You can sprinkle a little extra on the dough, if needed.
With a floured bench scraper, cut each disc into 8 pie-shaped portions and place on parchment lined cookie sheets. You can also use a silicone mat like this one (see below).
Brush with melted butter and bake at 425°F for 13-16 minutes or until just golden brown around the edges.
Let them cool for 10 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack. Meanwhile, make your orange glaze and place in a clear plastic sandwich bag. Seal the bag and cut a tiny hole in the corner. Drizzle icing over scones. I love using orange zest, don’t you? Not only does it taste wonderful but it makes your kitchen smell so sweet and citrus-y.
And there you have it. Lovely little Orange Glazed Cranberry Scones with apricots.
The perfect cure for your cranberry orange cravings. All you need is a spot of tea (said she with a British accent).
Orange Glazed Cranberry Scones
Ingredients
- 2 cups 240g unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/4 cup 50g granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons orange zest divided
- 5 tablespoons 70g chilled, unsalted butter, sliced to 1/4-inch pieces
- 1 1/2 cups 135g cranberries (preferably fresh, but you can use frozen or dried as well)
- 1/2 cup 65g chopped dried apricots
- 1 cup 230ml heavy whipping cream
- 3 tablespoons 43g melted butter, divided
- 1 1/2 cups 175g powdered sugar
- 2-3 tablespoons orange juice
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 425°F.
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In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, granulated sugar, salt and 1 1/2 teaspoons of the orange zest. Using two knives or a pastry blender, quickly cut in the cold butter until mixture resembles a coarse meal.
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Stir in cranberries and apricots, then add cream. With a rubber spatula or fork, stir until dough begins to form.
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Divide dough in half. On a floured surface, shape each half into a 7" disc. The dough will be sticky. You can sprinkle it with a little extra flour, if needed. Using a floured knife or bench scraper, cut into 8 wedges. Transfer to large cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or silicone mat. Brush with 1 1/2 tablespoons of the melted butter. Bake 13-16 minutes or until the edges are light golden brown. Cool for 10 minutes, then transfer to wire rack.
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Meanwhile, prepare the orange glaze. Place powdered sugar, remaining 1/2 teaspoon orange zest , 1 1/2 tablespoons melted butter and 2 tablespoons orange juice in a medium bowl. Stir until smooth. Add more juice, if needed. Pour glaze into 1 quart resealable food storage bag. Cut off tiny corner of bag; squeeze bag to drizzle icing over scones. Store in airtight container. They will keep for several days or freeze for longer life.
As you might know, I was a finalist in the Pillsbury Bake-Off a few weeks ago. One of the many benefits of being in the contest is that you get to sample 100 delicious recipes. One of the finalist recipes was for Orange Glazed Cranberry Biscones. They were made with canned biscuits which is quick and easy. They were really good, but I thought I would create a similar recipe from scratch. These take a little more time but I think they are so worth it!
Note: This recipe is featured on Meal Plan Monday over at the Southern Plate.
Lise,
Made this morning and they are delicious! Super easy to make and you are so correct very tender. Family loved them, will definitely make again. Thank you for posting a great recipe.
Eileen
Lise,
Just tried your recipe today. They turned out so good!!! I love scones but find the ones you buy are often very dry–these turned out so tender and moist. I didn’t have any fresh cranberries so just plumped up some dried ones I had in my pantry by soaking them first in a little orange juice. Worked great! Thanks for posting the recipe–I’ll definitely make them again. Maybe even experiment with different fruit (i.e., blueberry and lemon)–although cranberry/orange are my favorite.
Sherry
Thanks, Eileen and Sherry! I’m so glad you liked them and they came out well! Enjoy! 🙂
My guests love fresh scones in the morning and my husband loves the leftovers. I am not a big fan of apricots….is it a subtle flavor or can I substitute something like manderines?
I would like to make these but we don;t care for apricots, can i skip them and maybe up the cranberries?
Have you ever frozen these to use later
They freeze beautifully as I have done in the past . Just dont glaze them until thawed and ready to eat/ present as a gift which is what I do w/ them for my neighbors during xmas week. These w/ other small gifts in a basket make a beautiful and much appreciated gift.
Kathleen & Debbie: just don’t use the apricots and they will still taste great.
Janne: Yes! Absolutely. Just make sure they’re sealed in an airtight container or sealed freezer bag.
Beth: Thank you! I love the gift basket idea! 🙂
Can dried cranberries be used rather than fresh or frozen?
The first time I made these, I didn’t have enough dried apricots, so I used dried apricots and dried cranberries with the fresh cranberries. Delicious. The second time, I omitted the apricots, using fresh and dried cranberries again. Delicious. I made these without any apricots or cranberries, but used frozen cherries for our Christmas morning scones. Once again, delicious! Now it is after the first of the year and fresh/frozen cranberries are nowhere to be found. Made them for Bible study with dried apricots and dried cranberries. Still delicious. I also should note that I vegan-ized your recipe, using vegan margarine instead of butter and soy, coconut, or almond creamer and milk (just whatever I had in the fridge at the time). I made them for non-vegans and none of them believed they were vegan. This is probably one of the best and most versatile scone recipes I’ve ever done. It is exquisite! Thanks ever so much!
I made these today and they turned out lovely! I omitted the apricot and only used dried cranberries. I also substituted truvia for the sugar to reduce calories. Next time will have to make a double batch, they were devoured quickly.
These are the perfect treat for our “High Tea!” So light and delicate, they are just wonderful! Thanks so much for posting!
I’m so glad you liked them! Thank you for letting me know. Enjoy!
I have a question on this reciepe. When using fresh cranberries do you have to chop them and do you add any sugar to sweeten them up. And if you use frozen berries do you still add sugar to sweeten up. We are having a afternoon ladies church tea and thought these would be perfect for the occasion.
Hi Sandra, you don’t have to chop the cranberries and you don’t have to add extra sugar. Just follow the recipe which includes sugar and you will get a nice balance of sweet from the sugar and natural flavor of the cranberries.
These sound heavenly, an i’m glad these are airy and fluffy instead of the dry hard scones, Can’t wait to make them.
I too make cranberry orange Scones and I use Craisens instead of fresh or frozen cranberries
Hi Marge, You could used Craisins in the recipe if you wanted to. They would work fine.
Can you freeze these with the frosting on them, or should I ice them later? I made these recently, and they were such a hit, that I want to make them for a gathering, but have them made a week in advance. Thanks!
It would probably be best to ice them later.