Cranberry Orange Scones With Fresh Milled Flour
Light, zesty, and just sweet enough, these cranberry orange scones with fresh milled flour are sure to brighten your holiday season.
Servings: 8 scones
Calories: 447kcal
Equipment
Ingredients
For the Scones
- 2 cups milled hard white wheat flour spooned and leveled (plus more for dusting)
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- Zest from 1 orange
- ½ cup butter frozen
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup frozen cranberries
For Brushing the Tops
- 1 tablespoon heavy cream
- Coarse sugar for sprinkling
Glaze
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 3 tablespoons orange juice
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and orange zest.
- Grate the frozen butter using a box grater. Add it to the dry mixture and toss until it resembles coarse crumbs. Place the bowl in the freezer while you prep the wet ingredients.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the heavy cream, egg, and vanilla extract.
- Pour the wet mixture into the dry ingredients and stir gently. Add in the frozen cranberries and mix just until everything is combined.
- Turn the dough out onto a floured surface. With floured hands, shape it into a rough ball. Don’t worry if it’s a little sticky. Press into an 8-inch circle and cut into 8 wedges.
- Transfer the scones to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Brush the tops with heavy cream and sprinkle with coarse sugar. Chill the pan in the fridge for at least 15 minutes.
- While the scones are chilling, preheat your oven to 400°F.
- Once chilled, bake the scones for 22–25 minutes, or until golden on the edges and lightly browned on top. Let them cool slightly.
- While the scones cool, whisk together the powdered sugar and orange juice to make the glaze.
- Drizzle the glaze over the scones and enjoy.
Notes
- Be sure to use frozen butter and don't skip the chilling time. Cold ingredients are important for light and fluffy scones.
- Don't overwork your scone dough. You want to handle it as little as possible in order to keep the ingredients cold and prevent gluten development, which can affect the texture.
- Don't thaw your cranberries before adding them to the dough. You want them straight from the freezer so they don't get juicy or mushy.
- When it comes to milling your own flour, having a good mill makes a world of difference. As such, I strongly recommend investing in a high quality grain mill. I use a Mockmill professional grain mill.
- New to milling grains? You can learn everything you need to know in my post on how to mill your own flour!
- Check out the video here in the recipe card for a visual demonstration of how to work the dough and what the texture should look like.