Lemon Cranberry Scones

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

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Lemon Cranberry Scones

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Lemon Cranberry Scones

Prep Time

15 mins

Cook Time

15 mins

Total Time

30 mins

 

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.

Course: Breakfast/Brunch, Snack

Cuisine: British Inspired

Servings: 18 small scones or 8 large

Author: Barry C. Parsons

Ingredients

• 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)

For the Easy Lemon Glaze

• zest of half a lemon finely grated
• 2/3 cup icing sugar (powdered sugar)
• 1 tbsp lemon juice, approximately

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. 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)
3. 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.)
4. 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)
5. 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.
6. Turn the dough out onto a well floured board or counter top.
7. 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.
8. Using a 1½ inch biscuit cutter, cut out your scones and place them about 2 inches apart on a parchment lined baking sheet.
9. 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.
10. 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.
11. Serve with thick or clotted cream and your favourite jam.

To prepare the Easy Lemon Glaze

1. Simply mix together the ingredients until smooth with no icing sugar lumps.

2. 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.

3. I like to make the glaze in a small shallow ramekin, which makes dipping the tops of the scones in the glaze quite easy.

4. Let the glaze set for a half hour or so before serving.

Recipe Notes

I like to make the smaller scones if serving them for afternoon tea.

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.

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