Orange Cranberry Scones have a delicate orange-vanilla flavor, with dried cranberries adding a sweet-tart contrast. Top with a sweet orange glaze to complete the citrus notes for an over-the-top treat!
Preheat the oven to 400 °F. Line a half baking sheet pan with a Silpat silicone mat or parchment paper. Set aside.
Make the scones: In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
Grate the butter using a box grater and toss it into the flour mixture a little at a time. Once all the butter is grated, use a pastry blender, two forks, or your hands to work the butter into the flour until coarse, pea-sized crumbs appear.
In a small bowl, whisk together the heavy cream, egg, and Fiori di Sicilia. Slowly add the heavy cream mixture to the flour mixture and mix until the dough just holds together. Using a bowl scraper helps to keep your hands from warming the butter as the dough is mixed.The amount of the heavy cream mixture to add depends on the humidity of the day. Squeeze a small amount of dough between your fingers, and add more of the cream mixture or flour, 1 tablespoon at a time (2 tablespoons maximum), if it's too crumbly or too wet. Remember, do not over mix the dough - you want to keep that butter cold and separate from the flour.
Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and push together into a rough square. Sprinkle some of the dried cranberries on the dough, then fold it in half to seal them in (reserve some cranberries to press into the dough later). Repeat a couple more times, so the cranberries are evenly distributed in the dough.
Gather the dough, and flatten it into a 6-inch disk (if you want square scones, shape the dough into a rectangle with the short side about 4-inches long). Use a bench scraper to release the dough, if needed. Cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate the dough at least 30 minutes or up to overnight.
Once the dough is chilled, you have your choice of how to shape the scones:For wedge-shaped scones: Roll out the disk into an 8-inch circle, then use the bench scraper to cut the disk into 8 wedges. For round scones: Roll out the disk to a height of about ¾ inches. Use a 3-inch round cookie cutter to cut out rounds (gather, press, and cut the leftover dough again as needed, but hopefully not more than 2 times).For square scones: Roll out the dough into a 12- by 4-inch rectangle, then cut into twelve 2-inch squares.
Place the scones about 2-inches apart on the prepared baking pan. Press in the reserved dried cranberries on the tops of the scones. Brush the tops of each scone with heavy cream and sprinkle with coarse sugar.
Bake for about 18 to 23 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool the scones on the baking pan for 2 minutes, then move to a cooling rack. Allow to cool for 10 to 15 minutes.
Make the glaze: While the scones are cooling, sift the powdered sugar, then stir in the orange juice in a bowl until smooth. Adjust the consistency by adding 1 teaspoon of orange juice or more sifted powdered sugar as needed.
Place the cooling rack back on the baking pan to catch the drips. Drizzle the glaze on the and allow to set.
Serve the scones warm or at room temperature and enjoy!
Storage Instructions: Scones are best enjoyed right away, though leftover scones keep well at room temperature or in the refrigerator for about 3 to 5 days. Glazed or plain scones freeze well, up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator then warm to your liking before serving.
Make-ahead instructions: For freshly baked scones anytime, freeze the cut, unbaked scones in a ziplock bag. Take out as many as you want to bake (there's no need to defrost them first), and bake at 375 °F for 20 to 25 minutes.
The yield is generally about 8 scones (that's what I get from a circle cut into wedges or with a 3-inch round cookie cutter), and up to 12 (cutting the square scones). Your yield may vary.
Recipe Notes
How you cut up your butter isn't as important as keeping it cold. Generally I'll grate frozen butter on a box grater, mostly because I won't have defrosted the butter ahead of time. You can also cut chilled butter into ½-inch cubes before blending it into the flour mixture.Some scone recipes use more butter than the 3 : 1 : 2 recipe ratio. For this recipe, you can add another 2 tablespoons of butter for more richness if you'd like.For even more orange flavor, consider adding 2 teaspoons of grated orange peel (the amount from 1 orange) to the dough and/or the glaze. You can't go wrong with more flavor! Also, you can substitute 2 teaspoons of grated orange peel and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract for the Fiori di Sicilia.