Cranberry Orange Scones with White Chocolate feature tangy fresh (or frozen) cranberries, orange zest and juice, and sweet white chocolate.
Cranberry and Orange is a classic winter flavor combination that's perfect for the holidays. I've made a cake that features this combination, some candied pecans, and even my cranberry sauce has a little bit of orange flavor.
Now you can include that classic tangy, citrusy combination with your breakfast, in the form of Cranberry Orange Scones with White Chocolate.
I really love scones, and while I haven't posted a new recipe for them in a long time, I do have a few others. One of my favorite scones comes from The Bear's Paw in Jasper - a raspberry scone with white chocolate.
I especially love the white chocolate part and wanted to create another white chocolate scone that would work for the holidays. I made the test batch last weekend and was surprised to find that my kids absolutely loved them, although neither of them has really expressed much love for scones before. These ones might just make it to the breakfast table this Christmas morning.
How to make Cranberry Orange Scones with White Chocolate
Start off making these tangy scones with cold butter. It can be fridge-cold, or even frozen. Grate it using the large holes of a box grater. Put the grated butter on a plate and transfer it to the freezer to keep cold.
Wash your orange (or oranges, if they're small) well and zest them using a microplane or other zester. Cut the zested orange(s) in half and juice them into a measuring cup. Add enough plain Greek yogurt (or sour cream) to the juice to total half a cup. Stir an egg into the orange-yogurt mixture and set the measuring cup aside.
Stir together the dry ingredients with a whisk in a large bowl. Stir in the chilled, grated butter. Pour in the orange-yogurt mixture and stir with a spatula until it's incorporated. At this point, there will be still lots of loose flour.
Pour the mixture onto a clean countertop, and knead until all of the dry flour bits are incorporated (try to minimize contact with your warm hands as much as possible to prevent the butter from melting).
Form the dough into a rectangle, wrap in plastic, and chill in the freezer for 10-15 minutes (if you need to set the dough aside for much longer than this at this point, put it in the fridge instead so that it doesn't freeze solid).
Roll the dough into a 12 x 12-inch square and sprinkle the cranberries and white chocolate evenly over the top. Roll up the dough from the bottom as if you were making cinnamon buns (it's ok if it's a little messy).
Press the dough into a 4 x 12-inch rectangle. Cut the rectangle in half (you will have two 4 x 6-inch rectangles), then each of those in half again (you will have four 4 x 3-inch rectangles). Cut each of those in half diagonally so that you have eight triangles. Sprinkle the tops with coarse sugar if desired.
Place the dough triangles on a baking sheet that is lined with parchment paper, and bake until the tops of the scones are golden brown and the centers seem set. Cool for at least 10 minutes before serving.
Cranberry Orange Scones with White Chocolate Make-Ahead Instructions
If you want fresh-baked scones for breakfast in the morning without waking up over an hour early to make them - don't worry. It's totally doable.
Simply follow the recipe to make the scone dough and form the scones. Then put the unbaked scones in an airtight container (or on the baking sheet and cover with plastic) and put them in the fridge overnight.
In the morning, bake as directed (you might need a few minutes of extra baking time).
Alternatively, simply bake the scones the night before and cover them with a clean towel overnight. In the morning, re-heat in a low oven (or in the morning) for warm, almost-fresh-baked scones.
Cranberry Orange Scones with White Chocolate Ingredients
- Cold unsalted butter - the butter needs to be very cold (even frozen will work) because you will be grating it with a box grater.
- Medium navel orange - while I prefer the traditional orange flavor of naval oranges paired with cranberries, other types of oranges like cara cara or tangerines will work too (note that if you use very small oranges like tangerines, you will need more than one).
- Plain Greek yogurt - or you could substitute sour cream
- Large egg
- All-purpose flour
- Whole wheat flour - while I almost always use a little bit of whole wheat flour in my breads and baked goods, this is optional. If you don't have any, simply replace it with an equal amount of additional all-purpose flour.
- Granulated sugar
- Baking powder
- Salt - this recipe was developed using table salt. If you use Diamond Crystal Kosher salt, use ¾ teaspoon.
- Baking soda
- Frozen or fresh cranberries - I prefer using frozen cranberries because they're easier for me to find, and they help keep the dough very cold before baking which is necessary for scones. Don't use thawed frozen cranberries.
- White chocolate chips or chunks - This will be incorporated into the scones, plus you can use more to melt and drizzle on the top after baking if desired.
- Coarse sugar like sanding sugar or demerara sugar - this is optional, and used for sprinkling on the tops of the scones before baking. You don't really need the sugar and melted white chocolate on top, but you can if you want.
Want more cranberry dessert recipes?
Cranberry Orange Scones with White Chocolate Nutrition Notes
The nutrition information in the recipe below is for one scone if you use the recipe to make 8 scones. The nutrition information does not include the optional coarse sugar or additional white chocolate to top the scones.
Cranberry Orange Scones with White Chocolate
Equipment
- Box Grater for grating the butter
- Microplane for zesting the orange
- Parchment paper or silicone baking mat
- Bench Scraper optional, but helpful
Ingredients
- 8 Tablespoons cold unsalted butter (1 stick)
- 1 medium navel orange
- ¼ cup plain Greek yogurt or more, up to ½ cup
- 1 large egg
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup whole wheat flour
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup frozen or fresh cranberries
- ½ cup white chocolate chips or chunks plus more, for melting and drizzling if desired
- coarse sugar like sanding sugar or demerara sugar optional, for sprinkling
Instructions
- Using the large holes of a box grater, grate 8 Tablespoons (112 g) cold unsalted butter onto a large plate. Put the plate in the freezer to chill while you prep the rest of the ingredients.
- Wash and dry the outside of your naval orange well. Use a microplane or zester to completely zest the orange. Measure out 1 teaspoon of the zest and put it in a measuring cup. Squeeze the juice from the orange into the measuring cup. Add enough plain Greek yogurt to the orange juice mixture to measure a total of ½ cup (my juice was just under ¼ cup, so I needed just over ¼ cup of yogurt to get up to the ½ cup mark, but it will depend on your orange). Stir 1 large egg into the orange juice mixture and set the mixture aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together 1 ½ cups (187.5 g) all-purpose flour, ½ cup (60 g) whole wheat flour, ⅓ cup (67 g) granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon (4 g) baking powder, ½ teaspoon (3 g) salt, and ¼ teaspoon (1 g) baking soda.
- Mix the chilled grated butter into the flour mixture until the butter is evenly distributed. Using a spatula, stir the orange juice mixture into the flour mixture until all of the liquid has been absorbed. Dump the flour mixture onto a clean working surface and knead the dough until all of the flour has been absorbed (try to limit contact with your hands as much as possible to avoid melting the butter). Pat the dough into a 4x6" square, wrap in plastic, and place in the freezer for 10-15 minutes to chill.
- Move the oven rack to the middle position and turn the oven on to 400°F. Prepare a baking pan by lining it with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- If the dough is sticky, dust the top and bottom very lightly with flour. Roll the dough into a 12x12" square. Sprinkle 1 cup frozen or fresh cranberries and ½ cup (100 g) white chocolate chips or chunks evenly over the dough and gently press both into the dough.
- From the bottom, carefully roll the dough upwards, as if making cinnamon rolls (using a bench scraper to help "peel" the dough from the counter really helps here). Don't worry if the dough doesn't roll smoothly, this is just a way of distributing the mix-ins.
- Once the dough is all rolled, press the dough into a 4x12" rectangle. Cut the rectangle in half (you will now have two 4x16" rectangles), then each half in half. Cut each of those four 3x4" rectangles in half diagonally so that you have 8 triangles.
- Place the triangles on the prepared baking sheets, ideally with the cut edges to the sizes, but place them however they seem the most stable. If desired, sprinkle a little bit of coarse sugar (sanding sugar or demerara sugar) on the tops of the scones. Bake for 17-20 minutes, until the tops are browned and the centers seem set (I checked mine at 15 minutes, and while at first they looked done, a gentle touch revealed that the centers were still very doughy). Cook on the baking sheet, and drizzle with melted white chocolate, if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
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