Cranberry & Orange Scones with Orange Butter
Cranberry & Orange Scones are so quick and easy.
To make them, I take the classic British fruit scone and give it a twist by using dried cranberries soaked in orange juice plus orange zest.
To make them even more orange-y, serve them with a simple orange-flavoured butter.
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CRANBERRIES
Older readers may recall a time when Britain was relatively cranberry-free.
Then, in 1995, Delia Smith’s Winter Collection appeared on tv and in bookshops. It included recipes for Christmas Mincemeat with Cranberries, Cranberry and Orange Pies, Cranberry and Orange Chutney… (you get the idea).
Suddenly, the world went mad for cranberries. There was even, allegedly, a national cranberry shortage.
Now you’ll find cranberries everywhere. Not just in supermarket products such as cereal, yogurt, tea, biscuits and cheeses, but they’re also popular in homemade recipes.
Perhaps then, you’ve got a packet of dried cranberries hanging around, especially after Christmas?
While you can eat them as a snack with other dried fruit and some nuts, they’re a bit more appetising when incorporated into baked goodies.
Like these lovely these lovely little Cranberry & Orange Scones.
Cranberry & Orange Scones
Much as I love Classic Sultana Scones, I do sometimes fancy something different.
Cranberry & Orange Scones fit the bill perfectly. They’re a sweet treat, but not too sweet due to the cranberries’ tartness. And of course the combination of orange with cranberry is now a classic.
To soften and plump up the dried cranberries, I soak them in warm orange juice. This also helps to meld those cranberry and orange flavours.
I then use the cranberry soaking juice as part of the liquid for making the scone dough.
Plain yogurt, now homemade in my case, is my preferred liquid for scones, but you can use milk or buttermilk if you like.
As with most scones, the making of Cranberry & Orange Scones is pretty quick and straightforward.
Simply combine the dry ingredients (flour, a pinch of salt and some baking powder), rub in butter, stir in sugar plus flavourings (in this case the strained cranberries and the zest from the orange). You then add enough liquid to form a soft dough.
You can make the scones any size you like. I made smallish ones, using a 6cm cutter.
Rolling the dough to a thickness of around 2cm should make 12 scones.
To give a slightly crunchy top to the scones, I brush them with a little milk then sprinkle over caster sugar.
The scones only take 10-15 minutes to bake. So, once they’re in the oven, don’t go wandering off! Stay close by: make yourself a cuppa, fill the dishwasher or something.
I find that my scones are usually risen, golden and cooked all the way through in around 13 minutes.
ORANGE BUTTER
You could serve the Cranberry & Orange Scones with just ordinary butter. But why not ramp up the orangey-ness even more, with orange butter?
Orange butter is just regular butter (salted or unsalted, whichever you prefer) to which I add more grated orange zest, a little orange juice plus some icing sugar to sweeten.
Go easy on the icing sugar though. You want a flavoured butter, lightly sweetened, for your scones: not orange buttercream.
These scones freeze really well, as does the orange butter.
They can be defrosted in a microwave in just a few seconds before warming a little and spreading with butter.
But, when your kitchen is filled with the most delicious orange-y aroma as the scones bake, you might find they never get as far as the freezer.
Cranberry & Orange Scones with Orange Butter
A twist on the classic British fruit scone, but are still easy to make. Here they're spread with an orange flavoured butter.
Ingredients
For the scones
- 1 large orange
- 50 g dried cranberries
- 350 g self raising flour plus extra for rolling
- 1.5 tsp baking powder
- pinch salt
- 90 g butter at room temperature
- 100 g caster sugar plus extra for sprinkling
- 100-130 ml plain yogurt, milk or buttermilk plus extra for brushing the tops
For the orange butter
- 40 g soft butter
- 1 medium orange
- 1-2 tbsp icing sugar
Instructions
For the scones:
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Preheat oven to 200C/180C Fan/350F/Gas 4.
Lightly grease a baking tray.
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Grate the zest from the large orange and set aside.
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Squeeze the juice from the large orange and put in a small saucepan with the cranberries.
Bring to the boil, turn off the heat then set aside to cool a little.
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Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt into a large mixing bowl.
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Using your fingertips, rub the butter into the flour mixture.
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Stir the orange zest and caster sugar into the flour and butter mixture.
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Strain the soaked cranberries through a sieve over a measuring jug. Press down with a spoon to squeeze out any remaining juice from the cranberries.
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Stir the sieved cranberries into the scone mixture.
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Add enough yogurt or milk to the juice in the measuring jug to reach the 150ml mark.
Stir well to combine into a smooth liquid.
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Add enough of the liquid mixture to the dry ingredients to form a soft dough - you may not need all of the 150ml, so add gradually without making the dough too wet.
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Lightly knead the dough on a floured surface then roll out to approximately 2cm thickness.
Use a 6cm cutter to cut out scones, re-rolling the scraps to make 12.
Place them on the greased baking tray.
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Brush a little milk over the tops of the scones then sprinkle with caster sugar.
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Bake until risen and golden (13-15 min) then move to a wire rack.
Leave to completely cool if storing and freezing.
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Served the scones split and spread with orange butter.
For the orange butter:
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Beat the butter until soft.
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Remove the zest from the medium orange and mix into the butter. Squeeze in a few drops of the juice from the orange and mix.
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Add sufficient sifted icing sugar to sweeten the orange butter to taste without turning it into a buttercream.