Cranberry-Orange-White Chocolate Chip Scones
Of the countless versions of basic scone recipes out there, I tend to like cream scones, which I find stay fresh and moist a bit longer than the butter-based variety. Because scones are at their best eaten soon after they leave the oven, I like to bake these right before I serve them. Because they come together so quickly, that’s not usually a problem.
When I recently was called upon to bring scones for forty to a tea party, I simply prepped the dry ingredients the night before, then mixed and baked them the morning of. This recipe lends itself particularly well to that method. If you have leftovers, don’t refrigerate them, which hastens staling. Wrap them tightly in plastic wrap and store them on the countertop for a day or two. For longer storage, wrap and place in a resealable plastic bag and place in the freezer.
Cranberry-Orange-White Chocolate Chip Scones
- 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup white chocolate chips
- 1/3 cup sweetened dried cranberries
- 1 teaspoon orange extract
- 1 1/4 cups heavy cream or whipping cream
- 1 egg, beaten
- Turbinado sugar for sprinkling, optional
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or spray with nonstick cooking spray.
- Combine flour, 1/4 cup sugar, baking powder, and salt in a mixing bowl. Add white chocolate chips and dried cranberries; toss to combine. Stir orange extract into cream and pour cream over dry ingredients. Mix just until dough clings together. Flour hands and fold - don’t knead - dough over a few turns until it coheres. (You really do not want to overhandle the dough - just pat it into shape. Kneading will develop the gluten in the flour and give you tough scones.)
- Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Pat or roll into a 1-inch-thick round (about 8 inches in diameter). Cut into 8 or 10 wedges or use a circular biscuit cutter to cut into rounds.
- Place scones on baking sheet, spacing them about an inch apart.
- Brush scones with beaten egg; sprinkle with sugar if desired. Bake for about 15 minutes, until tops and bottoms are golden.
- Let scones cool slightly on rack; serve warm or at room temperature.
Makes 8 to 10 scones.
Picture by me.
Hello!
I tried your recipe but halved it. The are now baking in the oven.
But the dough is too soft and sticky to cut with cookie cutter. The shape doesn’t not stay and I can’t lift the cut piece from the table. Do you know what is wrong? I didn’t fold the dough as instructed but worked with a fork instead until it sticks together. Is this the cause for the dough to be not cut-able? But it is too sticky to be folded too.
Hi! Thanks for reading, and for giving the recipe a try. I’m sorry you had trouble with it; let’s see if we can fix it. Some recipes can be easily halved, others can’t. I’ve never tried halving this one, so I’m not sure how it performs when halved. I think the best thing to do, the next time, is to make the full recipe and then freeze the unbaked scones for future use. (No need to thaw them first - just place them on a cookie sheet, then add a few minutes to the baking time.)
If you decide to try halving the recipe again, you can try this: Because you can’t use half an egg reliably, go ahead and use the whole egg, but you’ll need to compensate for the extra moisture. A large egg is equal to roughly 1/4 cup of liquid, so decrease the cream by 2 tablespoons. Half of 11/4 cups is 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons, so when halving the recipe, I’d use the whole egg and only 1/2 cup of cream.
Hope that helps!
Best,
~Sandy