What’s your favorite weekend breakfast food? Waffles? Pancakes? French toast? I’m partial to savory breakfasts myself; buttermilk biscuits and eggs and bacon would almost always be my first choice. Unless, of course, huevos rancheros are on the menu because I’m a sucker for that dish every single time. You might be surprised to hear, then, that sweet — not savory — breakfast scones easily make my top five list of breakfast treats. And while I meet most any scone with a devious smile, these homemade whole wheat cranberry orange scones are just about the best version to come out of our home kitchen. I promise that if you make these, you will devour every single crumb on the plate.
Confession: I cannot take credit for this culinary creation. These homemade whole wheat cranberry orange scones are the result of my husband’s experimentation. He took the best parts from a few different cookbook recipes, played around with the technique and ended up with a breakfast treat that our family flips for. Seriously. These are SO good.
One of the things that sets this recipe apart is that it calls for fresh cranberries, not the dried version. As they bake, the cranberries burst, creating little pockets of tangy deliciousness in every bite.
He also used whole wheat pastry flour in these scones. It lends a heartier, slightly nutty flavor than you’d get if you use all purpose flour. However, if you don’t have any whole wheat pastry flour on hand or if you’re just partial to all purpose flour, you can certainly swap out the whole wheat flour for all purpose flour. No need to adjust the amount of flour if you decide to do that; whole wheat pastry flour is meant to be a 1:1 substitution for all purpose flour.
In any case, I am here to plead with you. Please make these homemade whole wheat cranberry orange scones for your family. Your family will love you. You will love the scones. It’s really a win-win.
Cranberry Orange Scones
Ingredients
For the scones
- 8 Tablespoons frozen butter
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 2 cups whole wheat pastry or all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup + 1 Tablespoon sugar
- 1 orange
- 1 1/2 cups whole, fresh cranberries
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
For the glaze
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 2-4 Tablespoons freshly-squeezed orange juice
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
- 1 Tablespoon melted butter
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425º.
- Using a food processor or handheld grater, grate the frozen butter. Return the frozen, grated butter to the freezer.
- Combine flour, 1/2 cup sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. Add frozen butter and stir well to coat the butter with the dry ingredients.
- Zest the orange. Add orange zest to the butter/dry ingredients and stir it in well to combine.
- In a separate small bowl, combine buttermilk and sour cream. Mix until smooth.
- Slowly pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and stir gently just until combined.
- Turn dough out onto a floured surface and, using your hands, knead dough until it holds together. Pat or roll the dough out into a 12-inch square. Fold the square in thirds horizontally and vertically. You will be left with a four-inch square. Freeze the four-inch square for five minutes.
- While the dough is in the freezer, chop the cranberries. Toss them in remaining 1 Tablespoon of sugar.
- Remove the dough from the freezer and pat or roll it out until it is a 12-inch square again.
- Cover the dough with chopped cranberries and lightly press them into the dough.
- Beginning at the horizontal edge, roll the dough into a log with the cranberries inside.
- Roll or pat the dough out a final time, until it is roughly a 12 by 4 inch rectangle.
- Cut the dough into 8 triangular pieces.
- Return the scones to the freezer for 5-10 minutes.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Evenly space scones on the prepared baking sheet and bake at 425º for 18-25 minutes, until the scones are a golden brown and baked through. Cool on a wire rack for 20-25 minutes before glazing.
To make the glaze:
- Add powdered sugar to a medium bowl. Stir in orange juice, one tablespoon at a time, until the glaze reaches your desired consistency. Add melted butter and almond extract and stir well to thoroughly combine.
- When scones are cool, drizzle glaze on top. Serve immediately.
Nutrition Information:
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 453Total Fat: 16gSaturated Fat: 10gCholesterol: 42mgSodium: 315mgFiber: 2gSugar: 47gProtein: 4g
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Orange Creamsicle Rolls
Your pictures of my scones are almost as good as the scones themselves. ❤️ Almost…
Are you kidding me?! These look so much better than the Starbucks version. Must try.