Homemade Sourdough Cranberry Orange Scones Recipe
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Tender, buttery, with tart pops of cranberry and brightness from the orange zest, these Sourdough Cranberry Orange Scones are one of the first things I want to bake when fall and Thanksgiving rolls around. Which is perfect, because I usually have a bag of fresh cranberries lying around.
Just like my Sourdough Chocolate Chip Scones and Sourdough Maple Pecan Scones, the edges are slightly crispy, with a light crunch from the sugar on top. The combination of orange and cranberry just can’t be match, but be sure not to skip out on the orange glaze! Its citrusy sweetness takes these sourdough scones to the next level.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe:
A chance to make your discard into a delicious treat
This scone recipe feels special enough for weekend brunch or a holiday breakfast, but couldn’t be easier to make. Tender and buttery, they’re bursting with tart cranberries and bright orange zest. For more discard-friendly baked goods, try my Sourdough Blueberry Scones or these Sourdough Pumpkin Scones.
Soft and tender, never dry or dense
The cold butter folds into the dough to make light, flaky layers while keeping the center moist. Heavy cream adds richness without weighing the scones down. These ones bake up the way scones should: soft, buttery, and flavorful. Not hard or dry like the ones you sometimes find in stores.
Make the dough ahead and bake them fresh
You can make the scone dough ahead and have warm scones ready whenever you want. After shaping, cover the dough and let it rest in the fridge overnight. The next morning, you’ll be about 20 minutes away from warm scones that are tender and soft in the middle. Chilling the dough overnight also allows a slow ferment, which deepens the flavor.
Ingredients & Substitutions
* To find precise measurements, scroll to the bottom of this post to find the recipe card*
- Flour – I use all-purpose flour for these tender scones.
- Sugar- Just a touch of extra sweetness. You can decrease the amount of sugar, but know that this will change the overall texture and flavor of the scones.
- Baking Powder – This will bring a little lift to our scones! Double check that it hasn’t expired.
- Unsalted Butter – In order to get light and flaky scones, it’s best to use really cold or frozen butter. If you’re using salted butter, reduce the butter by 1g (¼ teaspoon).
- Cranberries – You can use fresh cranberries, frozen, or even dried cranberries for these sourdough cranberry orange scones, but I prefer frozen. The cold cranberries helps to keep the dough extra cold. Halve the cranberries before adding them to the dough.
- Heavy Cream: Heavy cream works better than milk because its thicker consistency gives the dough the right amount of moisture. Thinner liquids or too much liquid will make the scones spread and bake up flat and dry. Canned full-fat coconut milk is a great non-dairy swap.
- Sourdough Discard -I like using sourdough discard that’s no older than 1–2 days for sweet recipes like these scones. You can use an active starter as well; just be sure to measure it in grams instead of volume. Using cold sourdough starter discard also helps keep your butter cold.
- Orange – The juice and zest from an orange is the perfect compliment to the tart cranberries. For the best orange flavor, use freshly squeezed orange juice instead of store-bought.
How to Not End Up With Flat Scones
Nobody wants flat and dry scones. For the best results, use these baker’s tips for the most delicious orange cranberry scones.
- Use a kitchen scale: For the most accurate measurement of your ingredients, use a kitchen scale. Add too much flour, and your scones will be dry. Add too much liquid, and your scones will bake up dense and flat. This is such a cheap investment and it allows you to precisely measure your ingredients.
- Use cold/frozen butter: To get the most light and flakey crust, you need cold butter. When the butter starts to melt while it’s baking, it releases moisture, which creates those flakey layers. If you use room temperature or the butter melts before baking, the scones will be flat and dry.
- Use cold ingredients: To help keep the butter cool, use as many cold ingredients as possible, like cold eggs, cold heavy cream, and cold sourdough discard.
- Work quickly: You don’t want your butter to melt into the dough, so work quickly.
- Chill the dough before baking: Letting the scones rest in the fridge keeps the butter cold, which helps create those light, flaky layers.
How to Make Sourdough Cranberry Orange Scones
- In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Whisk together until incorporated.
- Grate the cold or frozen butter and add it to the flour. Use a pastry cutter or your fingers to mix until the butter is coated with flour and the pieces are pea-sized coarse crumbs.
- Next, sprinkle in your halved cranberries and mix until incorporated.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the heavy cream, egg, vanilla extract, orange zest, and sourdough discard until smooth.
- Pour the wet ingredients evenly on top of the butter mixture. Mix the scone dough with a rubber spatula until the cream mixture is combined. The dough will be crumbly, with a few bits of dry flour here and there.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and gently pat it into a rectangle. Use a bench scraper to fold it in half, then press it back into a rectangle. Repeat this folding and pressing three to four times.
- With your hands, form the dough into an 8″ disc. Cut the soft dough into 8 equal wedges with a bench scraper or a large knife.
- Place the unbaked scones on a baking sheet, cover, and chill them in the fridge for at least 15 minutes.
Long Fermentation Tip
If you want to give your sourdough cranberry orange scones a long ferment for easier digestibility, make the dough, cover it, and let it rest in the fridge overnight. Bake them the next day.
- Preheat the oven to 400 °F.
- With a pastry brush, top the scones with heavy whipping cream and sprinkle on a layer of coarse sugar, if desired.
- Bake the scones for 17-20 minutes, or until the top of the scones are lightly golden brown. Remove and place on a wire rack to cool slightly.
Orange Glaze
- In a small bowl, add the powdered sugar, orange juice, and zest and stir until smooth.
- Use a spoon to drizzle the tops of the scones with the sweet orange glaze. Enjoy!
How to Store:
Keep leftover cranberry orange scones in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days. If you want to store them longer, put them in the fridge for up to 5 days. Warm them in a 300 °F oven for 5 to 10 minutes before serving to bring back that fresh-baked taste.
Freezing Unbaked Scones:
Shape the dough into wedges and place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Freeze for 1-2 hours until solid, then transfer to a freezer-safe bag or container. When ready to bake, place the frozen scones on a baking sheet, brush with heavy cream, and bake as directed, adding 2-3 extra minutes.
Freezing Baked Scones:
To freeze baked scones, let them cool completely, wrap each one individually in plastic wrap, and store in a freezer-safe bag. When ready to eat, thaw at room temperature or warm in a 300 °F oven for about 10 minutes.
FAQs
Yes, but frozen cranberries are better because they stay cold and help keep the butter from melting while you work with the dough. If you use fresh, pop them in the freezer for 15 minutes before adding them to the dough. Either way, make sure to halve them first.
Your scones will spread more in the oven and won’t get those flaky layers. The 15-minute chill keeps the butter cold, which is what creates the lift and texture. If you’re in a rush, at least give them 10 minutes in the fridge.
You can skip the orange zest and juice, but the orange really balances the tartness of the cranberries. If you leave it out, your scones will taste more one-note. You could swap in lemon zest if you want something citrusy but different.
Sourdough Cranberry Orange Scones Recipe
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Ingredients
Sourdough Blueberry Scones
- 265 grams all-purpose flour 1 3/4 cups + 1 Tablespoon
- 100 grams sugar 1/2 cup
- 10 grams baking powder 2 1/2 teaspoons
- 3 grams salt 1/2 teaspoon
- 113 grams unsalted butter, frozen 1/2 cup
- 125 grams frozen cranberries, halved *see notes heaping 1 cup
- 120 grams sourdough discard, cold 1/2 cup
- 45 grams heavy cream, cold 3 Tablespoons, plus more for topping
- 1 egg, cold about 62 grams
- 8 grams vanilla extract 2 teaspoons
- zest of one orange
- coarse sugar optional
Vanilla Glaze
- 130 grams powdered sugar 1 cup
- 35 grams fresh orange juice about 2 Tablespoons
- orange zest optional
Instructions
Sourdough Cranberry Orange Scones
- In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Whisk together until incorporated. If not using a kitchen scale, be sure to fluff the flour and spoon it into your measuring cups and level off with a knife. This will give you a more accurate measurement.265 grams all-purpose flour, 100 grams sugar, 10 grams baking powder, 3 grams salt
- Grate the frozen butter and add to the flour mixture. Cut in with a pastry cutter or mix with your fingers until the small pieces of butter are coated with flour and create pea-sized coarse crumbs.113 grams unsalted butter, frozen
- Next, sprinkle in your cranberries and mix until incorporated.125 grams frozen cranberries, halved *see notes
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the sourdough discard, heavy cream, egg, vanilla extract and orange zest until smooth.You can use active sourdough starter, just be sure to use the same amount in grams. Using cold starter works best because it helps keep the butter from melting.120 grams sourdough discard, cold, 45 grams heavy cream, cold, 1 egg, cold, 8 grams vanilla extract, zest of one orange
- Pour the wet ingredients evenly on top of the butter mixture. Mix the scone dough with a rubber spatula until the cream mixture is combined. The dough will be crumbly with some bites of dry flour. Be careful not to over mix the dough, the flour will be incorporated in the next step.
- Turn out the mixture onto a lightly floured surface and pat into a rectangle. Then, with a bench scraper, fold the dough in half, then press down to create the large rectangle again. Repeat this 3-4 times. Folding the dough helps to create all of those beautiful flaky layers!
- With your hands, form the dough into an 8″ disc. Cut the soft dough into 8 equal wedges with a bench scraper or a large knife. Be careful not to slide the bench scraper when cutting the scones! This will close off the dough, which prevents the scones from getting the flaky layers. Simply press straight down and pull straight up.
- Place the unbaked scones on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Cover with a plastic lid and chill them in the fridge for at least 15 minutes while the oven preheats. This plastic lid fits perfectly over my baking sheets!
LONG FERMENTATION TIP:
- If you prefer to long ferment your sourdough scones for easier digestibility, prepare the sourdough scone dough and store them in the fridge covered overnight and bake them the following day!
- When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- With a pastry brush, top the scones with more heavy whipping cream and sprinkle on a layer of coarse sugar, if desired.coarse sugar
- Bake the scones for 17-20 minutes, or until the top of the scones are lightly golden brown. Remove and place on a wire rack to cool slightly.
Orange Glaze
- In a small bowl, add the powdered sugar, orange juice and orange zest. Stir until smooth.130 grams powdered sugar, 35 grams fresh orange juice, orange zest
- Use a spoon to drizzle the tops of the scones with the sweet orange glaze. Enjoy!
Notes
Ingredients & Substitutions
-
- Flour – I use all-purpose flour for these tender scones.
-
- Baking powder – This will bring a little lift to our scones! Double-check that it hasn’t expired.
-
- Unsalted butter – To get light and flaky scones, it’s best to use really cold or frozen butter. If you’re using salted butter, reduce the salt by ¼ teaspoon (1g).
-
- Cranberries –You can use fresh, frozen, or even dried cranberries for this sourdough scone recipe, however, I prefer using frozen! The cold cranberries helps to keep the dough extra cold. Halve the cranberries before adding them to the dough.
-
- Heavy cream – It’s important to use heavy cream instead of milk because the thick liquid brings just the right amount of moisture to these scones. If you add too much liquid or use one that’s thinner, your scones will bake up flat and dry. Canned full-fat coconut milk is a fabulous non-dairy alternative.
-
- Sourdough Discard – I prefer using sourdough discard that’s no older than 1-2 days for sweet recipes like these scones. However, you can also use the same amount of active sourdough starter. Just make sure to measure in grams instead of volume. Using cold discard is another helpful trick to keep your butter cold!
How to Not End Up With Flat Scones
Nobody wants flat and dry scones. For the best results, use these baker’s tips for the most delicious orange cranberry scones.- Use a kitchen scale: For the most accurate measurement of your ingredients, use a kitchen scale. Add too much flour, and your scones will be dry. Add too much liquid, and your scones will bake up dense and flat. This is such a cheap investment and it allows you to precisely measure your ingredients.
- Use cold/frozen butter: To get the most light and flakey crust, you need cold butter. When the butter starts to melt while it’s baking, it releases moisture, which creates those flakey layers. If you use room temperature or the butter melts before baking, the scones will be flat and dry.
- Use cold ingredients: To help keep the butter cool, use as many cold ingredients as possible, like cold eggs, cold heavy cream, and cold sourdough discard.
- Work quickly: You don’t want your butter to melt into the dough, so work quickly.
- Chill the dough before baking: Letting the scones rest in the fridge keeps the butter cold, which helps create those light, flaky layers.
What an easy and delicious way to put extra fresh cranberries to good use! My family couldn’t get over how the scones are tender and flaky with pops of tart cranberry and the orange glaze – YUM!
Delicious! Made these as a Christmas gift for neighbors and cut them into minis. Worked perfectly. A bit labor intensive but well worth it!
Thank you so much for sharing this! I love that you made them into minis — such a perfect idea for gifting.
I made this recipe twice and each batch was amazing! Great recipe!!! Easy, clear instructions. Delicious!!!
Thank you so much for taking the time to leave this! I’m so happy to hear you’ve made them twice and loved them both times. That means a lot to me—especially knowing the instructions were clear and easy to follow. Enjoy every bite!