It’s beginning to look a lot like… winter in Alaska. Which does look like Christmas, at least for the first few months. Maybe that’s why my oven keeps producing festive baked goods like these cranberry scones with a hint of orange.
All the snow may be pretty, but it doesn’t always feel like a glorious winter wonderland.
How do you motivate yourself on a cold, dark winter morning when the door is frozen shut, the rest of the family is sick, and all you really want to do is curl up with a mug of tea and a good book?
In my case, you snuggle up with a mug of tea and a hungry baby, and after he’s fed, don an apron and start heating the oven! There’s nothing like baking to raise my spirits and get my day off to a good start.
Bright Berries
The bright red cranberries in these scones make them a particularly cheering, festive treat. Set a plate of these pretty scones on the table, and even an ordinary meal looks special! Or put the kettle on and invite a friend over for a cozy autumn tea.
The dominant flavor in these scones is cranberry, with subtle spices and bright orange zest for contrast. The texture is about midway between feathery English scones and dense, sweet versions. They are best fresh from the oven with a bit of whipped butter or clotted cream.
Cranberries are tart, so this recipe includes just enough sugar to balance out the tartness without making the scones taste especially sweet. (I don’t prefer sweet scones, because the sugar makes them dense and heavy.) Feel free to vary the amount of sugar or even drizzle a vanilla-flavored glaze on top if you’re looking for a sweeter scone.
Looking for something a bit lighter and sweeter? Try Cranberry Almond Scones for a different flavor!
Other cranberry scone recipes I’ve tried taste mostly of scone and a little of cranberry. These ones taste mostly of cranberry, due to the amount of fruit in the dough. You can always decrease the amount of berries if you want the orange flavor to come out more.
You don’t have to wait until winter to make cranberry scones if you freeze cranberries when they are in season. I always try to buy extra after Christmas, so I will have some on hand for the next few months, at least.
To use frozen cranberries in this recipe, you will want to let them thaw partially so you don’t break your food processor. The easiest way to chop them is with a food processor, but you can also chop them by hand. It just takes longer, and doesn’t work as well for frozen berries.
Method
Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F and butter a baking sheet. One large baking sheet will do whether you are making small or large scones.
Combine the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and sugar in a large bowl. Add more cinnamon if you want a stronger flavor.
Cut the butter into smaller chunks. I usually slice a stick of butter five or six times crosswise, and then once lengthwise. Add the butter to the flour mixture.
Use a pastry blender or a fork to cut the butter into the dry ingredients. The butter should be in pea-sized pieces when you’re done. The chunks probably won’t all be the same size; don’t worry! As long as they are roughly pea-sized, it will be fine.
Combine the milk and egg and beat lightly with a fork. Pour the milk mixture into the flour mixture and stir to combine. You don’t want to mix the dough too much once you add the liquid, or the scones will be heavy.
Sometimes I leave a few streaks of flour in the dough at this point, knowing that I’ll be mixing it more when I add the cranberries in a few minutes.
Chop the cranberries roughly. You can do this by hand or with a food processor. They do not need to be in tiny pieces. Once when I was chopping them by hand, I just cut them each in half and called it good.
Zest an orange and reserve one tablespoon of the peel. I always use fresh orange zest (or clementine, which is a bit milder), but you can use dried orange peel if you prefer. I would cut the quantity down to 1 or 1 1/2 teaspoons if you use dried peel.
Fold in the chopped cranberries and orange peel. Mix gently to incorporate. Again, you don’t want to overmix the dough.
Turn the dough out onto a floured board or countertop. Knead it gently 6 times. How do you knead gently? Just pat it out about 1 1/2-2 inches thick, then fold in half. Turn the dough a quarter turn in front of you. Repeat this five more times.
If you’re having trouble treating the dough gently, try patting out the dough with the flat palm of your hand, instead of the heel of your hand, which has more force. Flour your hands if necessary, but you’re not trying to work more flour into the dough.
When the dough is kneaded, pat it out into one large circle or two smaller circles, depending on whether you want big or little scones. Big is coffee shop size! Small is probably a more normal size. In either case, the dough should be about 3/4-inch to 1-inch thick.
Slice the circles into wedges: 8 for the large circle, or 6 for each of the smaller circles. Transfer to a buttered baking sheet. Keep the scones in circle formation, but separate them a little so that the edges aren’t touching. If they are too close together, they will rise and stick to each other- and take longer to bake.
Sprinkle sugar on the tops of the scones before baking, if desired. A little bit of sugar on top is nice with the cranberries. Pop them in the oven for about 20-25 minutes. If you made your scones thicker, it might take longer.
The cranberry scones are done when the edges start to turn brown and the bottoms are golden. Cool on a rack and enjoy!
Cranberry Scones
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour unbleached
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup cold butter cut into chunks
- 1 egg slightly beaten
- 3/4 cup milk
- 1 tbsp orange zest
- 1 cup cranberries coarsely chopped
- extra sugar for dusting
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
- In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and sugar.
- Cut in butter with a pastry blender or fork until the butter is in pea-sized pieces.
- Add egg and milk and mix just until blended.
- Fold in cranberries and orange zest. Mix gently.
- Turn dough out onto a floured board. Knead gently 6 times.
- Pat out 3/4-inch thick, into one large circle or two smaller circles. Slice into wedges: 8 for the large circle or 6 for each of the smaller circles.
- Transfer to a buttered baking sheet and sprinkle extra sugar over the tops, if desired.
- Bake at 425 degrees F for about 20-25 minutes, until the edges begin to turn golden. Cool on a rack.
[…] This recipe goes well with Cranberry Scones! […]