Cranberry Orange Scones

Bakery Style Cranberry Orange Scones! These scones are perfectly soft and fluffy on the inside and crisp and crunchy on the outside. They are bursting with cranberry and orange flavor and make the perfect Fall breakfast!

Looking for more Scone Recipes? Try my Summer Berry Scones or my Glazed Orange Scones!

Cranberry orange scones on a white plate.

Cranberry and Orange Scones

These Cranberry Orange Scones are the perfect breakfast for Fall. I love the combination of the dried cranberries and orange zest. They give these scones so much flavor!

The scones are perfectly soft and moist on the inside with the crunchy crumbly edges we all love in a scone.

Before the scones are baked they get brushed with some of the reserved milk and orange juice mixture. They then get sprinkled with sugar then baked! It’s that extra touch that makes them feel like bakery style scones!

Key Ingredients

Flour: We used all purpose flour in this recipe.
Baking powder: This gives the scones the lift they need.
Sugar: Just a little bit of granulated sugar (only 2 tablespoons is added making this a guilt free scone!)
Butter: Cold cubed unsalted butter is used to make these orange scones extra flakey and buttery.
Orange juice and orange zest: Give these scones so much flavor!
Dried cranberries: I prefer using the dried cranberries over fresh or frozen. We soak the cranberries in a bit of brandy to plump them back up.

Cranberry orange scones having glaze drizzled overtop of them.

How to Make the Best Cranberry Orange Scones

Preheat oven: To 425 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Rehydrate cranberries: Add cranberries and brandy to a small bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and microwave for 1 minute. Leave the plastic wrap on and allow the cranberries to cool before removing the plastic wrap. I let mine cool while I am working on the rest of the steps.
Make buttermilk: Combine milk and orange juice and stir to combine. Let sit for 5 minutes. Reserve 2 tablespoons of the mixture for brushing on top of the scones.
Make scone batter: Add flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, butter and orange zest to a food processor fitted with the blade attachment. Pulse until the mixture resembles pea sized crumbs. Add in the remaining milk mixture (everything but the 2 tbsp that is reserved) and pulse for 10 seconds or until the mixture comes together. Make sure not to over mix. Fold in cranberries by hand using a rubber spatula.
Cut into triangles: Transfer dough to a well floured surface. Form the dough into a large 8 inch disc. Cut the dough into 8 wedges and transfer to the prepared pan.
Bake: For 15 minutes or until golden brown. When the scones are slightly cool drizzle with glaze and serve!
Orange Glaze: Combine all of the ingredients in a small bowl and whisk until smooth.

Cranberry orange scones getting brushed on.

Can I Use Other Types of Cranberries?

Yes! Fresh or frozen (no need to thaw) cranberries can be used.

Tips for Making Amazing Cranberry Orange Scones

It’s very important that this scone dough remain cold or else the butter will start to get warm and melt. That means the scones won’t be as soft and flakey so make sure to keep the batter cold.
Don’t overwork the batter. Just like when making any baked good the more you mix it the tougher the end result will be. Remember less is more!

Cranberry orange scones cut up into triangles.

More Orange Flavored Recipes to try!