Filled with delightful holiday flavors, these cranberry orange white chocolate scones are ultra-tender, quick to make, and so delicious.

Oh my, these festive scones are SO tasty. And they come together fast! They are perfect for everything from breakfast to holiday parties to just-because occasions.

Single cranberry orange scone drizzled with glaze on sheet of parchment paper.

Making Scone Dough the Easy Way

I hear from a lot of readers that scones seem too intimidating or fussy to make. In reality, homemade scones are so easy!

Making scone dough is as simple as:

  1. Whisking together dry ingredients
  2. Cutting in butter
  3. Adding liquid and mix-ins
  4. Gently mixing until the dough just comes together

That’s it!

Scone dough can be made by hand (using a pastry blender or two knives to cut in the butter). Or it can be made in a food processor, which makes easy work of cutting in the butter.

Bowl with fresh orange zest, flour and sugar.
Bowl with flour and butter.
Bowl with flour and small pieces of butter.
Bowl with flour, small pieces of butter and buttermilk.
Bowl with scone batter, white chocolate chips and craisins.
Bowl with mixed scone batter with dried cranberries and chocolate chips.

Patting and Cutting

Scone dough is similar to pie crust dough in that it shouldn’t be over worked. And using cold ingredients yields the best outcome!

For these cranberry orange white chocolate scones, we’re patting the dough into a thick circle and cutting the dough into eight triangles.

However, you can easily make smaller scones by patting the dough into a long rectangle, about 15X3-inches and cutting the dough into smaller triangles (about 12 to 14 scones).

Cranberry orange scone dough patted into thick circle.
Circle of scone dough cut into eight triangle pieces.

Delicious Cranberry Orange Flavor

Cranberry and orange were meant to be together, and these scones are proof of that.

The dough is infused with fresh orange zest and dried cranberries, and the glaze also incorporates additional fresh orange zest and orange juice.

While the orange flavor isn’t overpowering, it is a beautiful compliment to the tart, sweet cranberries and the creamy, sweet white chocolate chips.

Many of you already know my complicated thoughts about white chocolate. If you don’t, I won’t bore you with my soapbox feelings. Suffice it to say, I mostly think white chocolate is an abomination and use it sparingly. Which means: it if it appears in any recipe of mine, I have vetted the process and outcome, and I highly recommend using it. In these scones, good-quality white chocolate chips (like Ghirardelli brand) add a yummy, subtle creaminess.

Small bowl with powdered sugar, orange juice and orange zest.
Baked cranberry orange scones drizzled with glaze.

Changing My Scone Attitude

I used to be very “meh” about baked scones. My experience with them usually consisted of dry, tasteless scones.

However, all of that changed when I found this recipe. It is the foundation of my scone conversion story, and it is the recipe I use to model most of my scone recipes after.

It is fail proof and the scones are always perfect (and so delicious).

Spoon drizzling orange creamy glaze over baked scone.

A Scone So Good You’ll Cry

I was honestly a bit surprised at how good these orange cranberry white chocolate scones ended up being (after several rounds of recipe testing).

I couldn’t stop biting off morsel after morsel until, in the end, I tallied a ridiculous number of scones under my belt (quite literally 😜).

The scones are super tasty at room temperature, but we also love them warmed just a touch (like, no more than 10 1/2 seconds) in the microwave.

They are buttery and melt-in-your-mouth tender, and those holiday flavors make them something special. I hope you love them as much as we do!

Cranberry orange scone in half and drizzled with glaze.

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Single cranberry orange scone on parchment.

Cranberry Orange White Chocolate Scones

Yield: 8 large scones
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
4.88 stars (16 ratings)
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Ingredients

Scones:

  • 3 ½ cups (497 g) all-purpose flour (see note)
  • ⅓ cup (71 g) granulated sugar
  • 1 tablespoon fresh orange zest
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ¾ cup (170 g) cold salted butter, cut into tablespoon-sized pieces
  • 1 cup (242 g) cold buttermilk
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 ½ cups (240 g) dried cranberries (i.e. craisins)
  • ½ cup (85 g) white chocolate chips (optional)
  • 2 tablespoons butter, melted
  • 2 tablespoons coarse sugar, for sprinkling (see note)

Glaze:

  • ½ cup (57 g) powdered sugar
  • 1 teaspoon fresh orange zest
  • 1 tablespoon fresh orange juice (plus more, if needed, for consistency)

Instructions 

  • Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a half sheet pan with parchment paper. Set aside.
  • In a large bowl, add the flour, sugar, orange zest, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk to combine.
  • Add the butter and use a pastry blender or two butter knives to cut the butter into the dry ingredients until the butter is in small pea-size pieces.
  • Add the buttermilk and vanilla and mix until the dough starts to come together. Add the dried cranberries and white chocolate chips (if using). Mix and fold the dough together until evenly combined and no dry streaks remain. Don't over mix or the scones might be tough and dry. Mix just until everything comes together.
  • On a lightly floured counter, pat or roll the dough into a 9-inch circle. Use a bench knife, regular knife, or pizza cutter to cut the dough into eight equal-size triangles.
  • Place the scones an inch apart on the prepared baking sheet. Brush the tops with the melted butter and sprinkle with coarse sugar.
  • Bake for 15 to 17 minutes until lightly golden on the bottom and there are no doughy spots inside. Let the scones cool for 10 to 15 minutes before glazing.
  • Whisk together all the glaze ingredients, adding more orange juice (or more powdered sugar) until a thick but pourable consistency is achieved.
  • Drizzle the glaze over the scones. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Notes

Flour: if you aren’t using a scale, take care not to pack too much flour into the measuring cup, or the scone dough will be dry. Fluff the flour, scoop in the cup and level off. 
Food Processor: the scone dough can be mixed in a food processor rather than by hand. Pulse the dry ingredients with the butter until the butter is in pea-size pieces. Add the buttermilk and vanilla and pulse a few times until the dough starts to come together – don’t over mix. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured counter and sprinkle the craisins and white chocolate chips (if using) over the dough and knead briefly until the dough comes together. 
Coarse Sugar: the butter and coarse sugar can be optional, but they add a delightful crunch to the top of the scones. You can use coarse, sanding sugar or turbinado/raw sugar. Regular granulated sugar can be used, but it won’t provide the same texture/crunch due to the smaller granules.
Size: this recipe yields eight large scones. However, you can make smaller scones by patting the dough into a long rectangle, about 15X3-inches and cutting into smaller triangles (about 12 to 14). 
Author: Mel
Course: Bread
Cuisine: American
Method: Bake
Serving: 1 large scone, Calories: 505kcal, Carbohydrates: 79g, Protein: 7g, Fat: 19g, Saturated Fat: 12g, Cholesterol: 49mg, Sodium: 345mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 34g

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Recipe Source: from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe (base scone recipe from this favorite scone variation)

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