Lemon Cranberry Scones. With an easy to make, lemon glaze. Fragrant lemon and tart cranberry in every bite of these soft and tender scones; perfect for afternoon tea or weekend brunch.
Lemon Cranberry Scones, with a simple delicious lemon glaze.
These gorgeous little Lemon Cranberry Scones were a hit even before they got their own recipe post. In fact, I hadn’t even intended this to be a separate recipe but just a variation that I would add to our post for Proper English Scones. I had intended to add the photo and a note in the recipe for the variation. Because it was so popular I decided to make it more searchable on the website by giving it it’s own recipe page.
I’d already made them a couple of times when I posted the photo below on our Facebook Page just yesterday. Even without being baked, fans of the page starting string the photo by the dozens in just the first few minutes. It ended up being one of ur most shared recipes of the week as well.
I’m guessing that many were part the brigade of lemon lovers who always turn out in heaps for anything I post under the “lemon desserts” umbrella. You can find links to some of our best of those this post for Lemon Mousse Cake.
Lemon Cranberry Scones, ready for the oven.
I like to use dried cranberries in these scones but you could use fresh cranberries chopped in raisin sized pieces. One thing about dried cranberries is they seem to vary greatly in moisture content by brand.
I also find them to be far more dehydrated when I buy them at the bulk store. If your dried cranberries are not soft and pliable like raisins, I suggest re-hydrating them in water for 30-60 minutes. That always does the trick for me.
The lemon glaze here is optional. These are also still quite delicious plain, or taken to a whole other level when served with Homemade Clotted Cream, which is done using a very easy method using only whipping cream.
Lemon Cranberry Scones
To keep up with the latest home style cooking & baking ideas from Rock Recipes plus daily recipe suggestions from decadent desserts to quick delicious weekday meals, be sure to follow Rock Recipes Facebook Page.
Like this Lemon Cranberry Scones recipe?
You’ll find dozens of other great recipes like this in our Breakfast & Brunch Category and even more ideas in our Muffins, Tea Buns & Scones Category.
Lemon Cranberry Scones
You might also like:
Lemon Cranberry Scones - with an easy to make, lemon glaze. Fragrant lemon and tart cranberry in every bite of these soft and tender scones; perfect for afternoon tea or weekend brunch.
- 1⅔ cups all purpose flour
- 2½ tsp baking powder
- Zest of one large lemon , finely grated.
- 3 tbsp white sugar
- pinch table salt table salt
- 3 tbsp butter
- ½ cup milk
- ½ tsp vanilla extract (optional)
- 1 egg
- 3/4 cup dried cranberries (see notes)
- zest of half a lemon finely grated
- 2/3 cup icing sugar (powdered sugar)
- 1 tbsp lemon juice, approximately
-
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
-
In a food processor add the flour, baking powder, sugar, lemon zest and salt. Pulse to mix together well. (You can just mix the ingredients in a bowl if you prefer the manual method)
-
Pulse in the butter until the mixture resembles a coarse meal. (or just use your fingertips to rub the butter through the dry ingredients until the same texture is achieved.)
-
Whisk together the milk, egg and vanilla. Reserve a few teaspoons of the liquid to brush on top of the scones. This helps them brown nicely)
-
Add the liquid to the dry ingredients along with the dried cranberries and stir in quickly with a wooden spoon until a soft dough forms. It should be a little sticky. Don’t over work the dough or your scones will get tough and not rise well.
-
Turn the dough out onto a well floured board or counter top.
-
Lightly sprinkle the top of the dough with flour and just using your hands, form the dough into a round about ¾ of an inch thick.
-
Using a 1½ inch biscuit cutter, cut out your scones and place them about 2 inches apart on a parchment lined baking sheet.
-
Re-roll the scraps and cut out the rest of the scones. Brush the tops of all the scones with the reserved milk and egg liquid.
-
Pop the scones into the hot oven for about 12-15 minutes or until the tops of the scones are evenly browned. Cool on a wire rack.
-
Serve with thick or clotted cream and your favourite jam.
-
Simply mix together the ingredients until smooth with no icing sugar lumps.
-
The glaze should be thick but still pourable. If it is too thick add a little more lemon juice, if it is too thin, add a little more icing sugar to bring it to the proper consistency.
-
I like to make the glaze in a small shallow ramekin, which makes dipping the tops of the scones in the glaze quite easy.
-
Let the glaze set for a half hour or so before serving.
I like to make the larger scones if packing them into lunches or for picnics.
I like to use dried cranberries in these scones but you could use fresh cranberries chopped in raisin sized pieces. One thing about dried cranberries is they seem to vary greatly in moisture content by brand.
I also find them to be far more dehydrated when I buy them at the bulk store. If your dried cranberries are not soft and pliable like raisins, I suggest re-hydrating them in water for 30-60 minutes. That always does the trick for me.
Rock Recipes a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. Our product recommendations are almost exclusively for those we currently use or have used in the past.
Do you think frozen partridgeberries would work as a substitute for dried cranerries?
Oh absolutely!
I just made these and subbed blueberries and if they would’ve been fresh they would’ve been better, however, these scones were the most delicious I’ve ever had!! Yummm the perfect balance of lemon and texture… I highly recommend u try these for yourself!! Thx again Barry
My wife loves the texture of these as well. So glad you had such a success with the recipe.
Just a quick note to thank you for this recipe. My best friend made them last week and raved about them. I changed mine up a bit, and made orange scones AND the homemade clotted cream for breakfast tomorrow. Tomorrow is Thanksgiving for us yanks, and my grandkids are gonna love them! All best wishes to you and yours this holiday season!