Lemon Cranberry Scones
Flaky and moist with crumbly edges, finished with a lemon glaze, these easy-to-make Lemon Cranberry Scones are just right for brunch or simply with a coffee or tea.
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- 1 lemon zested
- 2 ¼ cups all purpose flour plus more for dusting
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup cold butter cut into small cubes or grated
- ¾ cup buttermilk or 35% whipping cream plus 2 tablespoons more for brushing
- 1 egg
- 1 cup fresh or frozen whole cranberries plus a few extra (do not thaw frozen cranberries)
Lemon glaze
- 1 cup icing sugar
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (juice the zested lemon)
Instructions
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Prepare a large baking sheet by lining with parchment paper. Preheat the oven later (see step 8).
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In a small bowl combine the sugar and lemon zest to infuse the sugar with lemon flavour.
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In a large bowl combine the flour, lemon infused sugar, baking powder and salt.
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To the flour/sugar mixture add the cold cubed or grated butter. With a pastry cutter, cut in the butter until the mixture is rough and crumbly and small pieces of butter remain visible. Do not overwork.
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In a medium bowl whisk the buttermilk (or cream) and egg. Add it to the flour mixture in the large bowl and stir with a spatula just until the dough comes together. Fold in 1 cup of the cranberries and stir to combine.
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With floured hands work the dough into a large ball and turn it onto a lightly floured work surface. Gently press the dough into a thick 8” to 9” circle; it may be a little bumpy and lumpy. Do not overwork the dough. Arrange some additional cranberries on top of the dough, pressing them in half-way.
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With a large chef’s knife or a pizza wheel, cut the circle into 8 wedges. Gently transfer each wedge onto the prepared baking sheet, spacing them about 2” apart.
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Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Meanwhile, place the scones on the baking sheet in refrigerator for 15 minutes or longer to allow the butter to firm up before baking. This will yield higher and flakier scones.
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Lightly brush the top of each scone with buttermilk or cream. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until the scones are lightly golden. Remove scones to a rack to cool.
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Lemon Glaze: In a small bowl mix together icing sugar and lemon juice to a smooth consistency. Drizzle or brush icing over cooled scones. Allow glaze to set for a few minutes.
Recipe Notes
- Cube cold butter into very small pieces or alternatively, grate cold butter on the large holes of a box grater.
- Keep cubed or grated butter, buttermilk and egg cold in the refrigerator until needed.
- Cut in butter with a pastry blender until crumbly; a food processor works too but tends to overwork dough resulting in denser, less flaky scones.
- Use buttermilk or heavy cream for the richest and thickest scones; the buttermilk is the lighter and tangier option of the two.
- Do not over work the dough in order to preserve the butter pockets in the dough; expect the dough to have lumps and bumps in it and not to be completely smooth.
- Refrigerate or freeze scones for 15 minutes or longer to allow the butter to firm up before they go into the oven which will yield higher and flakier scones.
- Scones bake quickly in a hot oven so keep your eye on them; start with the lowest time range given and check them from there.
- If fresh cranberries are not available use frozen but do not thaw them; or easily substitute them with blueberries or raspberries for equally tasty scones.
- Scones can be made ahead and frozen then baked when needed; read the “how to make ahead and/or freeze scones” paragraph in the blog post above.