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5 from 1 vote

Cranberry-Orange Scones with Golden Raisins, Walnuts & Orange Juice Icing

Shortbready scones, made with fresh oranges, craisins, blond raisins and walnuts iced with orange juice icing.
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 12 minutes

Ingredients

  • 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 6 tbsp. light brown sugar
  • 4 tsp. baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 4 oz. butter, cold and cut into small pieces equivalent to 1 stick or 8 tablespoons
  • 1/4 cup cream or half and half
  • 1/2 cup orange juice
  • 1 cup craisins (dried cranberries)
  • 1/2 cup golden raisins
  • 1/2 cup fresh orange pulp (peel orange and remove pulp from the white membrane), cut into small pieces
  • 3/4 cup walnuts, broken into bite-sized pieces

Orange Juice Icing

  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 2 tbsp. orange juice (+/- depending upon how thick you like your icing)

Instructions

Preparing the fruit

  • Place dried cranberries and blond raisins in a bowl. Pour boiling water over them just enough to cover the fruit. Allow to sit for 30 minutes. Strain off water through a sieve, and squeeze out any excess water by pressing down on the fruit in the sieve.
  • Peel the orange, and cut it into quarters or eighths. Remove as much of the white membrane as you can, and cut the oranges into small bite-sized pieces.

Making the Scones

  • Preheat oven to 425° F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  • In a large bowl, mix flour, brown sugar, baking powder and salt. Using a pastry cutter or cold fingertips, cut the butter into the flour until well-blended and the butter is reduced to tiny pea-sized pieces. Stir in cranberries, golden raisins, fresh orange pieces and walnuts. Mix well.
  • Mix orange juice with the cream (or half and half) and stir into the dry mixture. Using a fork, mix until well-blended. Form dough into a ball.
  • Place the dough ball on a floured cutting board or pastry cloth and roll out into a 9-inch round. Cut the round into 8 even triangular scones.
  • Transfer scones onto prepared baking sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the edges just begin to brown and centers feel done when you touch them with your finger.
  • Remove from oven and cool completely on the tray or on a cooling rack.
  • When completely cool, drizzle icing over the tops of each scone.
  • You can serve them immediately or they also freeze very well for several weeks. If you plan to freeze them, make sure the icing is dried before you seal them in the baggies or plastic containers to freeze them.

Orange Juice Icing

  • Mix powdered sugar and orange juice and blend until smooth. If you need to adjust the icing because it is too thick or too thin to drizzle over the scones, simply add a little more powdered sugar or orange juice as needed.