A Taste of Christmas: Cranberry & Orange Scones Recipe

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December 4, 2023

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A recipe for light and flaky orange cranberry scones bursting with bright citrus flavour. These easy Cranberry and orange scones are perfect for a Christmas brunch or afternoon tea.

1 39

Course Afternoon Tea

Cuisine British

Servings 12 Scones

Calories 297 kcal

Equipment

Set Pastry Cutters
Perforated Baking Tray
Air Mat
Stand Mixer

Ingredients

4 Earl Grey Teabags
70 g Dried Cranberries
500 g Plain Flour
28 g Baking Powder
85 g Caster Sugar
113 g Unsalted Butter
0.5 g Salt
1 Whole Orange Zested
2 Large Eggs
145 g Buttermilk
2-3 Egg Yolks
2 g Caster Sugar
2 g Salt

Method

One Day Ahead

Drop the cranberries into a glass jug or small bowl, add the four Earl Grey teabags and then add boiling water until it just covers the contents. Cover this with cling film and leave overnight. Give the mixture a little stir at some point if you remember.
4 Earl Grey Teabags, 70 g Dried Cranberries
Combine all of your dry ingredients (plain flour, baking powder, caster sugar, salt) add the cold, cubed butter and orange zest to make the scone crumble.
500 g Plain Flour, 28 g Baking Powder, 85 g Caster Sugar, 113 g Unsalted Butter, 0.5 g Salt, 1 Whole Orange
If you’re using a stand mixer, use the paddle attachment which should take around four minutes. If not, rub the butter into the dry ingredients by hand using your fingertips until you have the scone crumble (by hand should take no more than 5-6 minutes).
Cover the bowl with cling film and leave overnight in the fridge.
To make the egg wash, combine the egg yolks with 2g of salt and caster sugar, give them a quick stir with a teaspoon, cover and leave in the fridge.
2-3 Egg Yolks, 2 g Salt, 2 g Caster Sugar

Baking Day

About an hour before you plan to start finalising your orange & cranberry scones, combine the whole eggs and buttermilk in a bowl and leave on the kitchen side.
2 Large Eggs, 145 g Buttermilk
Drain the cranberries by dropping them into a sieve over a bowl, allow them to continue dripping until you are ready for them,
As you start to make the scones, turn on your oven to allow it to pre-heat.
Pour your scone crumble into a bowl, in one go add the egg/buttermilk mixture and the drained cranberries.
Mix until well combined and the scone mixture comes away from the side of the bowl.
Lightly flour your worktop and drop the mixture from the bowl. Gently knead the dough into around eight times, giving it a quarter turn each time. Allow it to rest for a couple of minutes loosely covered with some clingfilm.
Once rested, roll out the scone dough until it is approximately 2cm deep. Then using a pastry cutter, cut out the scones to the desired size. You can re-roll the remaining dough one further time as above.
Once the scones are cut out and laid on a lined baking tray, proceed to lightly brush a layer of egg wash onto each one.
Leave them on your kitchen worktop for 25 minutes to prove.
Add one further layer of egg wash to each of the scones before baking them for xx minutes