Cranberry Orange Scones

I just love making scones. For me they are one of those beautiful baked goods that you can have any time of day. The secret to making a good scone to me is making sure the butter is very cold. I will usually cut up what I need and then place it back in the fridge until I am ready to use.

This scone recipe is very similar to my chocolate chip scone recipe. It’s not overly sweet and that is why i think you can eat it for breakfast, a little afternoon snack or as a treat after dinner. I make this recipe for my daughter as a grab and go kind of snake when she is either on her way to school or just coming home and needs a quick hit to fill her until dinner.

Collect all the ingredients and have them handy before starting

Here is what you will need:

2 cups of all purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp of baking powder
1/4 tsp of salt
1/2 cup of cold unsalted butter cut into pieces
1/2 cup of milk (with extra to brush on top of scones)
3/4 cup of dried cranberries
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
Orange juice from 1 orange
2 tbs of orange zest
1/2 cup of vanilla yogurt
Course sugar to sprinkle on top or dusting of icing sugar

Flour your hands and work the dough into a round disk. Roll out to 1″ think

Here is how to make it:

Preheat the oven to 350° and line a cookie sheet with parchment or a silpat.
In a food processor combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Pulse to combine.
Add the butter and pulse until combined with the flour mixture.
Add the orange juice, milk, vanilla and vanilla yogurt and pulse until a dough starts to form.
Add in the cranberries and mix until the dough combines.

I cut mine into 8 pieces but you could easily cut each in half as the will rise in the oven.

Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and gently fold over the dough trying not to handle it too much and shape into a disk about 1″ thick.
Cut the dough into wedges (I did 8 but you can cut them into more for smaller scones) and place on the prepared cookie sheet.
Brush lightly with the extra milk and sprinkle with course sugar (omit the sugar if you prefer to dust them with icing sugar once cooled).