Cranberry Orange White Chocolate Scones (GF)

As Cranberry Orange White Chocolate Scones bake, the house fills with incredible aromas of sweets and citrus. Easy to make and ready quickly, these are lovely for breakfast, brunch, or after-school snacks. Filled with the flavors of the season, you will love these beautiful scones!

Scones may seem intimidating but they are quite simple to make. Mix the liquids together and separately, blend the dry ingredients and mix the two together. I used my stand mixer but you could mix these by hand too. Then mix in the cranberries and white chocolate. They will be ready in no time.

When the dough has formed, drop it onto a floured work surface. If you are gluten free, be sure to use a safe flour blend – usually more of the same flour you used in the dough. This helps keep the scones from sticking to the board and your hands as you pat it into an 8-inch disk.

Gluten-free doughs tend to be wetter and heavier than wheat doughs. If needed, add a bit more flour to your work surface than usual and sprinkle some on top of the dough and flour your hands before forming into a disk. It will help keep your hands from sticking!

Use a bench scraper or knife to cut the disk into 8 pieces. This is easy, just cut it into quarters and then cut each quarter in half. You’ll have 8 wedges that are fairly close in size.

The wedges will expand a lot during baking, so be sure to leave plenty of room between each one. If they do merge together while baking, use a metal spatula, bench scraper, or knife to separate them after you pull them out of the oven. The parchment will help them move apart.

The recipe calls for zesting an orange to get the flavor without interfering with the dry to liquid ratio. I recommend you use a Microplane brand of grater or zester. I have several in different sizes for a wide variety of projects. There is nothing better on the market!

In these scones there are two mix-ins, cranberries and white chocolate. I used dried berries but you can use frozen fresh cranberries too. I love Guittard white chocolate chips – they are a incredibly flavored and you can really tell the difference. When you are making something special, I think it is worth the extra cost. Whenever you can, use the best quality you can afford.

If you choose to use fresh cranberries, freeze them solid and use them without thawing to help keep the dough cold. I used dried cranberries which I rehydrated with boiling water and they were wonderful. Use what you have available.

If you are baking for adults, you can rehydrate the dried cranberries in liquor such as rum or bourbon. Warm it gently and soak the berries. Be sure to drain them well and pat dry before adding them to the dough.

Another important ingredient is butter. European-style brands have less water in them and higher percentage of butterfat. I love Kerrygold butter from Ireland. It is incredibly creamy with rich flavor and produces the most exquisite baked goods.

When you are ready to glaze the scones, place them on a wire rack set over a sheet of parchment or waxed paper. This will catch any drips that happen and reduce your clean-up!

If you want a bolder orange flavor in the glaze, you can add a couple drops of a food-safe orange oil. My favorites come from LorAnn Oils and I keep several bottles on hand for baking and candy making.

One trick to measuring the intense oils from LorAnn is to use the squeeze eye dropper tops they sell for their bottles. Just be sure you get the right size and type for the bottles you are buying!

Cranberry, Orange, White Chocolate Scones are perfect for holiday breakfasts – easy and quick to make, festive and fun. Your family and friends will be hovering around the kitchen as they bake, waiting for them to cool enough to dive in. Bake a batch and enjoy!

If you try this recipe, let me know! Please leave a star rating in the recipe card, comment below, and don’t forget to snap a pic and tag it @theheritagecook on Instagram! Seeing your creations makes my day and I love hearing from you!

Ingredients needed for Cranberry Orange White Chocolate Scones:

• Scones: Cranberries, flour (GF if needed), sugar, baking powder, salt, butter, cream, egg, vanilla, orange zest, white chocolate
• Toppings & Glaze: Cream, Turbinado sugar, confectioners’ sugar, fresh orange juice

PRO Tip:

An important ingredient in scones is butter. European brands have less water in them and higher percentage of butterfat. I love Kerrygold butter from Ireland. It is incredibly creamy with rich flavor and produces the most exquisite baked goods. Consider using European-style butter when you are baking pastries.

How to make Cranberry Orange White Chocolate Scones:

1. Make the Scones: If using dried cranberries, rehydrate them in boiling water then drain well. Leave fresh cranberries frozen which helps keep the dough cold.
2. Whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and xanthan (if using for GF). Grate the frozen butter and add it to the flour mixture. Cut it in with a pastry cutter or two knives until you get pea-sized pieces. Transfer to the bowl of your stand mixer if using and refrigerate to keep cold.
3. Whisk together the cream, egg, vanilla, and orange zest. Pour over the chilled flour mixture, add the cranberries and white chocolate then mix together with your mixer until everything is moistened and begins to clump together.
4. Form the Scones: Pour out onto a floured board (use GF flour if needed) and using floured hands, pat into an 8-inch disk or two 5-inch disks and cut into 8 wedges.
5. Place wedges on a parchment-lined baking sheet and brush with cream and sprinkle with coarse sugar. You can refrigerate for 15 minutes to reduce spreading if you want.
6. Bake the Scones: Bake in a 400°F (204°C) oven for 22 to 25 minutes or until golden brown around the edges and lightly browned on top. Transfer to a wire rack to cool while you make the glaze.
7. Make the Glaze: Whisk the sugar and orange juice together; add more sugar to thicken, more orange juice to thin. Add a couple drops of orange oil if you want a bolder flavor.
8. Pour the glaze into a resealable plastic bag and press into one corner. Holding the glaze-filled corner pointed up, snip off a very small portion of the tip. Drizzle the glaze over the scones and serve.

PRO Tip:

Gluten-free doughs tend to be wetter and heavier than wheat doughs. If needed, add a bit more flour to your work surface than usual and sprinkle some on top of the dough and flour your hands before forming into a disk. It will help keep your hands from sticking to the dough!

Recommended Tools (affiliate links; no extra cost to you):

• Kitchen scale
• Zester
• Box grater
• Pastry cutter
• Stand mixer or hand mixer
• Bench scraper
• Parchment paper
• Baking sheet pan

Gluten-Free Tips:

* You can adjust any baking recipe to gluten-free by using 120 grams per cup of my favorite gluten-free flour blend. If you are using another brand of flour or regular flour, whisk it, spoon it lightly into a measuring cup until mounded, level off the top with a knife, and weigh the flour left in the cup. Use that weight as your standard per cup of that specific flour. Do this for each flour blend you use. Commercial gluten-free blends such as Pamela’s All-Purpose Artisan Blend, Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1, or King Arthur Measure for Measure are all good choices.

You will get the best and most consistent results by using a digital kitchen scale and weighing your ingredients, especially when you are baking.

All recommended ingredients are gluten-free as of the writing of this article. Always check to be sure the products haven’t changed and are still safe to consume.

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Yield: 8 large scones or 16 little scones

Cranberry Orange White Chocolate Scones (GF)

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Cranberry Orange White Chocolate Scones are buttery with crisp edges and a crunchy top, a beautiful combination of textures and flavors. The orange glaze adds just the right pop of brightness in every bite.

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Additional Time 15 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes

Ingredients

Scones

• 1 heaping cup (125g) dried cranberries or frozen cranberries
• Boiling water
• 2 cups (240g*) gluten-free all-purpose flour blend* or regular all-purpose flour, plus more for forming scones
• 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
• 2-1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp xanthan gum, if your GF flour doesn't already contain it
• 1/2 cup (1 stick; 113g) unsalted butter, frozen
• 1/2 cup (120ml) heavy cream
• 1 large egg (50g)
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 2 tsp freshly grated orange zest (from about 1 orange)
• 1/2 cup (85g) white chocolate chips

Toppings

• 1 tbsp (15 ml) heavy cream, optional
• Turbinado or raw sugar, optional

Glaze

• 1 cup (120g) confectioners’ sugar
• 2 to 3 tbsp freshly squeezed orange juice (from the zested orange)

Instructions

1. Make the Scones: If using dried cranberries, place them in a heatproof bowl and cover with boiling water. Set aside to soak for about 10 minutes to rehydrate. Drain thoroughly and set aside. If using frozen berries, no need to thaw them – they will help keep the dough cold.

2. In a wide, deep bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt together. Grate the frozen butter using a box grater. Add it to the flour blend and combine with a pastry cutter, two forks, or your fingers until the mixture comes together in pea-sized pieces. Transfer to the bowl of your stand mixer and place in the refrigerator or freezer as you mix the wet ingredients together.

3. In a small bowl, whisk 1/2 cup heavy cream, the egg, vanilla extract, and orange zest together. Pour this over the chilled flour mixture, add the soaked and drained cranberries and white chocolate and then mix together until everything is moistened and starts to clump together.

4. Pour onto a well-floured work surface and, with floured hands, work dough into a ball and sprinkle the top with a little more flour – the dough will be sticky. Press and pat into an 8-inch disk or two 5-inch disks (for smaller scones) and, with a sharp knife or bench scraper, cut into 8 wedges each.

5. Transfer the wedges onto a parchment-lined baking sheet, separating them to allow for spreading. Brush the scones with the cream and for a beautiful crunch, sprinkle with turbinado sugar. If you want, refrigerate for about 15 to 20 minutes to reduce spreading.

6. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400°F (204°C).

7. Bake the Scones: Bake for 22 to 25 minutes or until golden brown around the edges and lightly browned on top. Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool as you make the glaze.

8. Make the Glaze: Whisk the sugar and orange juice together. Add a little more confectioners’ sugar to thicken or more juice to thin. If you want a bolder orange flavor, add a couple of drops of food safe orange oil.

9. Pour the glaze into a plastic bag and press into one corner. Holding the glaze-filled corner pointed up, snip off a very small portion of the tip. Drizzle the glaze over the scones and serve.

10. Scones keep, covered, at room temperature for 2 days or in the refrigerator for 5 days.

Recipe found at www.theheritagecook.com

Notes

* You can adjust any recipe to gluten-free by using 120 grams per cup of my favorite gluten-free flour blend. If you are using another brand of gluten-free flour, whisk the mix, spoon it lightly into a measuring cup without a spout until mounded, level off the top with the back of a knife, and weigh the flour left in the cup. Use that weight as your standard per cup of that specific flour. Do this for each flour blend you use. Commercial blends such as Pamela's, Bob's Red Mill 1-to-1, or King Arthur Measure for Measure are all good choices.

All recommended ingredients are gluten-free as of the writing of this article. Always check to be sure the products haven’t changed and are still safe to consume.

Adapted from a recipe by Sally’s Baking Addiction

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

8

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 352Total Fat: 7gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 32mgSodium: 360mgCarbohydrates: 63gFiber: 3gSugar: 6gProtein: 9g

The nutritional information for recipes on this site is calculated by online tools and is merely an estimate. If you need nutritional calculations for medical reasons, please use a source that you trust.

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