Low Sugar Cranberry Orange Scones

These Low Sugar Cranberry Orange Scones create a delicious, crumbly perfectly balanced scone.

It is a wet rainy day here. I have the water for the coffee simmering on the stovetop and the house is quiet and calm. A perfect setting for baking. As the oven heats, I quickly throw together the ingredients for these delicious scones. There is a small dust of flour in the air as I begin rolling it out on the smooth surface of the dough board.

Carefully cutting the triangles which can certainly be standard circles. In any case, they are arranged on the baking sheet and ready to go. The waft of heat blows at me as I place them on the rack. Their smell quickly fills the room as they bake.

The coffee is ready and as I pour a hot cup in anticipation of the scones, I am amazed how baking transforms the home. Giving not only something delicious to enjoy but a true feeling of comfort.

Now deciding what to bake is not always so simple of a decision. Most often, the ingredients I have on hand make the decision for me. For special occasions, a run to the store might be in order. But not on a typical rainy day like today. Very often, scones do the trick as they are made up of mostly pantry staples and can be quite versatile when it comes to flavor.

At times when I have fresh berries on hand I might fold them into the dough like these Raspberry Scones. However, cranberries and orange zest are in order on a cold winter day. The flavors pair nicely and create a perfect scone for the season.

These Low Sugar Cranberry Orange scones are perfect for rainy-day baking.

These Low Sugar Cranberry Orange Scones Are

• Low on sugar big on taste
• They are made from simple ingredients
• The flavor combination creates the perfect winter scone recipe
• Use butter and milk in place of heavy cream
• They are easy to make
• Packed with flavor and perfectly crisp with a soft inside
• The recipe can be doubled if wanting to make in larger batches
• Are great for make ahead breakfasts on the go
• Perfect for brunch, or a winter afternoon tea

Scones Vs. Biscuits

Honestly, when I first tried a scone I wondered this very thing. The taste can be sweeter than a biscuit of course but the texture is very similar. That unless you have a savory scone made of cheese or chives. Then you might be very confused. When it comes down to it, the only true difference is in the ingredients. There are many scone recipes that don’t require eggs found on the internet however, eggs are a traditional ingredient for making scones. Furthermore, some like to use heavy cream over milk and butter in their scone recipe.

Biscuits are made up of almost the very same ingredients. Butter, milk, baking powder, and flour. It is the addition of eggs that creates the only difference between the two baked goods. That is if you make the version of scones that require butter and milk over heavy cream.

Both biscuits and scones can be made with cheese, chives, or other savory add-ins. Though a sweeter recipe might have you calling your baked good a scone rather than a biscuit. In reality, the difference is really up to you on whether you see your baked good as a scone or a biscuit.

Ingredients

All-Purpose Flour- I use all-purpose unbleached organic flour for this recipe. But you can use any all-purpose flour you like, using AP flour gives the perfect texture to the scone.

Cranberries- I use dried cranberries for this recipe which adds the perfect cranberry flavor and nice chew texture to the scone.

Orange Zest and Juice- The zest and juice from the orange pair perfectly with the flavor from the dried cranberries.

White Sugar- I use white sugar for these scones to help add a bit of sweetness to the dough but I have kept the sugar to a minimum.

Baking Powder- I add a tsp of baking powder to help the scones rise.

Egg- I use half the egg for the dough and the other half to brush the tops of the scones. This helps give them a nice golden finish when baked. For the dough, this helps bind it together.

Butter- is a must, I use real unsalted butter. If you use salted butter be sure to omit the salt in the recipe.

Salt- I add a pinch of sea salt to this recipe to help out balance out the flavors. You can use regular table salt for this.

Milk- I use whole milk for this recipe but you can also use 2% or even half and half will work.

What You Will Need To Make Them

1 cup all-purpose flour plus more for rolling out

1 orange (for zest and 2 tbsp of juice)

1/4 cup of sugar plus more for sprinkling tops

1 egg

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 cup dried cranberries

3 tbsp milk

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 cup of very cold butter

Directions

Sift together the flour, salt, and baking powder in a bowl.

Cut in the butter until it’s crumbly in appearance.

Beat the egg in a bowl and set aside. Zest the orange and add this zest to the flour mixture.

Combine 3 tbsp of the egg with the milk and 2 tbsp of juice from the orange. Pour this into the flour mixture to combine. Fold in the cranberries.

Flour a surface, roll out the dough to about 1/2 inch thick disc, and cut the dough into 4 wedges.

Use the remaining egg to make an egg wash then brush the tops of the scones. Sprinkle the tops with more sugar.

Bake at 425℉ for 15 minutes or until scones begin to golden. Serve with plenty of jam and butter.

Baking Notes

• I use frozen butter as I find this keeps it chilled perfectly through mixing.
• For this recipe, I use unbleached organic all-purpose flour but you can use standard all-purpose
• You can use raw unrefined or regular white refined sugar for this recipe
• This recipe will make either 4 scones and the recipe can be doubled.

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