Cranberry Orange Scones Glaze (Printable Version)
Buttery scones with tart cranberries and fresh orange zest finished with a sweet orange glaze.
# What You'll Need:
→ Dry Ingredients
01 - 2 cups all-purpose flour
02 - 1/3 cup granulated sugar
03 - 1 tablespoon baking powder
04 - 1/2 teaspoon salt
05 - 1 tablespoon finely grated orange zest
→ Wet Ingredients
06 - 1/2 cup cold unsalted butter, cubed
07 - 2/3 cup cold heavy cream
08 - 1 large egg
09 - 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
→ Add-Ins
10 - 1 cup fresh or dried cranberries (if dried, soak in hot water for 5 minutes and drain)
→ Sweet Orange Glaze
11 - 1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
12 - 2 to 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
13 - 1/2 teaspoon finely grated orange zest
# How to Make It:
01 - Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
02 - In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and orange zest.
03 - Add cold cubed butter to the dry ingredients. Using a pastry cutter or fingertips, work butter into flour until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
04 - In a separate bowl, whisk heavy cream, egg, and vanilla extract until blended.
05 - Pour wet ingredients into the dry mixture. Add cranberries, stirring gently with a fork until dough just comes together. Avoid overmixing.
06 - Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and pat into a 1-inch thick circle, approximately 8 inches in diameter.
07 - Cut the dough into 8 wedges and place on prepared baking sheet, spacing them slightly apart.
08 - Brush scone tops lightly with a little extra cream for a golden finish.
09 - Bake for 16 to 18 minutes, until golden and cooked through. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
10 - Whisk powdered sugar, orange juice, and orange zest until smooth and pourable. Drizzle glaze over cooled scones.
# Expert Tips:
01 -
- The tart-sweet balance of cranberries and orange is addictive, and honestly, they disappear faster than you'd expect.
- They're deceptively simple to make—no fancy technique required, just cold butter and a gentle hand.
- The glaze is the perfect finishing touch that makes people think you spent way more effort than you actually did.
02 -
- Keep everything cold until the moment you mix—warm butter and cream will give you dense, cake-like scones instead of tender, flaky ones.
- Don't be tempted to overmix the dough; a few flour streaks are your friend, and lumpy dough makes better scones than smooth dough.
- If your orange juice is too acidic, the glaze can taste bitter; always taste it first and adjust the sugar-to-juice ratio as needed.
03 -
- Mise en place is your best friend here—have everything prepped and cold before you start mixing, so the dough comes together quickly and stays cold.
- A microplane zester is worth its weight in gold for citrus—it gives you the finest, most evenly distributed zest possible, which changes the flavor profile dramatically.