Orange & cranberry scones with sticky cranberry jam
These light, fluffy scones are amazingly quick and easy to make using a minimum of utensils – and blimey, they are beautiful! With every bite you’re hit with the gorgeous flavour of fresh oranges and delicious little chewy bites of tangy cranberry. This recipe couldn’t be simpler – one mixing bowl is all you need. The trick is to handle the dough as little as possible. The more you mix, prod and knead the dough, the tougher the scones will be. For the softest, lightest scones that melt in your mouth, you only want only the bare minimum of handling.
Ingredients
Scones
3 cups self-raising flour
1 cup full cream
1 cup standard lemonade
50g butter, melted
4 oranges (organic if your budget permits)
2 tsp vanilla paste or essence
1 ½ cups dried cranberries
Sticky cranberry jam
1 x 275g jar cranberry sauce
¼ cup sugar
¼ cup juice from the oranges
¼ tsp mixed spice
1 tsp lemon juice
Method
Scones
Preheat the oven to 200c conventional bake and line one large (or 2 smaller) baking trays with baking paper. Set the oven racks in the middle of the oven.
Wash the oranges under hot water. Zest them and mix the zest in a small bowl with the Craisins. Juice the oranges so you have about ¼ a cup, and keep for the jam later.
Sift the flour into a large mixing bowl and make a large well in the centre with your fingers. Pour the cream, lemonade and melted butter into the well. Add the Craisins, vanilla and orange zest (scrape all the zest out with a spatula), then use a butter knife to gently stir the mixture in circles until it comes together to form a rough, wet dough. It doesn’t need to be perfectly mixed yet.
Lightly dust a clean benchtop with flour and tip the dough out on to it. Flour your hands and very gently knead the dough a few times so it just comes together into into a smooth dough. Press down to in to a circle about 3-4cm high.
Use a cutter about 6-7cm to cut circles from the dough (or cut with a sharp knife). Try and cut straight down to get as clean a cut as possible – don’t swivel it sideways or mess up the sides too much, as this can affect the way the scones rise. I find it helps to run the cutter (or knife) under hot water before each cut.
Place the scones 4cm apart the baking tray. Bake in the oven for 16 minutes until just turning golden on top. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack. Serve warm or cool with lashings of cream (or butter, mascarpone, crème fraîche) and the sticky cranberry jam (see below).
Store in an airtight container once cooled. After a day, they need a quick zap in the microwave before eating.
Jam
Place all the ingredients in a small saucepan and simmer for about 10 minutes over a medium-low heat until thick and jammy (it will thicken more as it cools).
The dough was really wet when I made these, how can I make it drier?x
Hi Chelsea
We often make your plain lemonade scones and have wondered about adapting the recipe to make cheese scones. I was thinking of substituting the lemonade for soda water and adding grated cheese. What do you reckon?
Hi Chelsea I am wanting to make these for a high tea birthday can I frezzer them for a week and defrost on the day I need them? Thanks
I would make them fresh :)
Would the basics of the recipe work with dates? My dad LOVES date scones and I wanted to make him some for fathers day but my one and only attempt at scones in the past was not very successful haha
Does the lemonade need to be cold?
They look lovely. I don’t have self raising flour and the raising agents are a bit different here in France, but I do have a supply of kiwi baking powder and baking soda. So is it 1 tsp BP to a cup of flour?
Scones are quite a novelty here.
What is the secret to making scones? Ive never mastered them
Hi, I am intolerant to cream. Can it be substituted for something else?
A nice greek yogurt?
Where was this recipe in November at American Thanksgiving?! But glad to see it now and can’t wait to try it. Can you use frozen cranberries instead of dried?
After trying a scone recipe and it failing on me, I decided to try your recipe online. It is easy and delicious! Thank you Chelsea!
Sooooooo yum thanks for this recipe!
Wow someone that actually knows scones do not have eggs. I might just try this recipe. Too many put eggs in them and it really spoils the choice for those who are allergic to eggs as I am. Biscuits with eggs too. Means when we go out for lunch, which isn’t often as there is no choices for me. Most places wont make something for me. Its very hard. So I will stay at home or come home to have what I want. thanks for sharing the recipe Chelsea. I have a question do you have any recipe books for people with allergies, like gluten, and egg free, that is also oats free.
Can I use soda water instead of lemonade and would you add any sugar? I only have soda water.
Hi Chelsea
About how many scones does this recipe make? Also love your recipes!!!!
Hi Chelsea! I only have sprite zero in my fridge at the moment, will it still work?? Thanks!
Wow, these are so good! I didn’t have lemonade but I did have lemon ch’i. Gorgeous!
Look gorgeous – do u have recipe for wheat free scones as just can’t find a good one – thank you xx
Is the lemonade natural or fizzy?
This is super yummy and easy to make
hi i have just made these scones (they are in the oven!) but the mixture was very wet and sticky. i carried on with them but next time i would probably need to add more flour. how much more would i add?? thanks
So delicious. Now my go to for morning teas. I put the jam together to simmer while I make the scones and add more mixed spice. Always so so good
Can I use gluten free flour
Oh so Lovely;-)