Healthy Cranberry Orange Scones
You only need 30 minutes to make these scones, making them perfect for a sweet weekday breakfast treat or lazy weekend brunch. They’re full of bright orange flavor and tangy cranberries — such an irresistible combination! Leftover scones will keep for at least four days (if not closer to a week!) if stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups (180g) white whole wheat flour or gluten-free* flour (measured like this)
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp (7g) orange zest (about 1 large orange)
- 2 tbsp (28g) unsalted butter, cold and cubed
- ½ cup (120g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- 3 tbsp (45mL) honey
- 3 tbsp (45mL) freshly squeezed orange juice
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ¾ cup (82g) fresh cranberries, diced
- 2 tsp nonfat milk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F, and line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Whisk in the orange zest. Cut in the butter with a pastry cutter or the back of a fork until the mixture resembles fine crumbs. Make a well in the center. Pour in the Greek yogurt, honey, orange juice, and vanilla. Stir until just incorporated. Fold in the diced cranberries with a spatula.
- Using a spatula, shape the dough into a ¾” tall circle on the prepared baking sheet. Brush the tops and sides with the milk. Slice the circle into 8 triangular segments with a sharp knife (but don’t separate them!). Bake at 425°F for 18-21 minutes, or until the tops are lightly golden. Cool on the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.
Notes
IMPORTANT MEASURING NOTE – READ BEFORE BEGINNING: It's very important to measure your flour correctly, using this method or a kitchen scale. (← That’s the one I own!) Too much will make your scones turn out dry and can sometimes give them a crumbly texture. It can also make them taste bland.
IMPORTANT BAKING NOTES – READ BEFORE BEGINNING: Do not separate the 8 dough wedges before baking in Step 3. Instead, leave them touching on the baking sheet! This helps make the insides really moist, soft, and fluffy.
IMPORTANT ORANGE NOTES – READ BEFORE BEGINNING: Use oranges that are purely orange without any green spots. Make sure to use the full amount of zest because that’s what provides the majority of the orange flavor.
Measure the zest by grams or tablespoons, and measure the orange juice by mL or cups — not by "1 large" orange. Not all large oranges are the exact same size, which will impact the flavor and texture of your scones!
IMPORTANT FLAVOR NOTE – READ BEFORE BEGINNING: As written, these scones aren’t overly sweet. If you prefer sweeter scones, substitute honey, pure maple syrup, or agave for an equal amount of orange juice in the dough. (For example, use 4 tablespoons of honey, and decrease the orange juice in the dough to 2 tablespoons.)
FLOUR ALTERNATIVES: Whole wheat pastry flour, regular whole wheat flour, or all-purpose flour may be substituted for the white whole wheat flour.
ORANGE ZEST NOTE: The zest provides the majority of the orange flavor. Don't skip it!
IMPORTANT BUTTER NOTES + ALTERNATIVE: It’s very important that your butter is cold, straight from the fridge. (Freezing it isn’t necessary for this recipe!) With very cold butter, it won’t soften or melt until you put the scones in the extremely hot oven, and it will create little air pockets and a very tender crumb when it melts.
For this reason, I don’t recommend substituting tub-style spreadable butter. (It’s already soft and more likely to melt!) I also don’t recommend substituting coconut oil. It melts at a much lower temperature, which affects the texture of your scones. (See the "Cold butter" header in the "How to Make Healthy Cranberry Orange Scones" section in my blog post above for more information!) If you do decide to substitute spreadable butter or coconut oil, just keep this in mind!
Salted butter may be substituted for the unsalted butter. For a dairy-free option, I recommend using stick-style vegan butter instead. (I really like this one and this one.)
SWEETENER ALTERNATIVES: Pure maple syrup or agave may be substituted in place of the honey.
I do not recommend substituting sugar-free maple syrup. Those products are often water-based, which affects the scones’ texture. The scones usually turn out denser and collapse some while cooling.
CRANBERRY NOTES: It’s important to dice the cranberries finely, no larger than the size of chocolate chips, to ensure that the scones bake evenly. I typically use my food processor to do this — it’s so much faster!
Frozen and thawed cranberries that have been thoroughly patted dry to remove any excess moisture may be substituted for the fresh.
DRIED CRANBERRY VERSION: If you prefer, ⅓ cup of dried cranberries that have been hydrated may be substituted for the fresh cranberries. To hydrate the dried cranberries, add them to a microwave-safe bowl, add water until it rises ½” above the cranberries, and cover the top with a lid or plastic wrap. Microwave on HIGH for 1 minute. Let the cranberries sit while preparing the scone dough. Just before adding them to the dough, drain and pat dry.
MILK ALTERNATIVES: Any milk may be substituted in place of the nonfat milk.
EGG-FREE, DAIRY-FREE + VEGAN VERSION: Substitute stick-style vegan butter (I like this one and this one) in place of the unsalted butter, and substitute non-dairy yogurt (ie soy-based, almond-based, etc) in place of the Greek yogurt.
In a pinch, coconut oil may be substituted for the butter, but the texture of the scones will be affected. Very cold butter is required to achieve their tender texture, and since coconut oil melts at a much lower temperature, the results will not be the same.
GLUTEN-FREE VERSION: For a gluten-free version, use the following blend: 1 cup (120g) millet flour, ¼ cup (30g) tapioca flour, ¼ cup (30g) brown rice flour, and 1 teaspoon xanthan gum. Many store-bought gluten-free flour blends (I like this one from Bob's Red Mill) will work as well, if they’re measured like this.
HOW TO STORE: Store your scones in an airtight container in the refrigerator. They’ll keep for at least four days, if not longer.
I highly recommend reheating leftover scones in the microwave before eating. It really improves their texture and makes them soft and fluffy again! I heat them on 30% power until they’re warmed all the way through.
These scones also freeze really well!
VIDEO: To see how to make these scones, watch this video of mine above the recipe. (Although the recipe is slightly different, the process is still the same!)
{gluten-free, egg-free, nut-free, clean eating, low fat, dairy-free option, vegan option}
DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?I'd love to hear what you think of it in a comment below! If you take a picture, tag @amys.healthy.baking on Instagram or use the hashtag #amyshealthybaking.