These Lemon Cranberry Scones are all about keeping things cold and light to get that perfect, tender crumb. The secret? Grating the butter directly into the flour! This ensures the butter stays cold and evenly distributed, preventing overmixing and unwanted gluten development. The colder your ingredients, the flakier the scones will be.
Pro tip: Keep everything chilled—especially the butter, flour, and even your mixing bowl! This will make sure you get perfectly flaky scones every time.
The key to successful scones is ensuring everything is very cold. So let's get everything ready first:
Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Whisk it well to combine. Grate the lemon zest and add to the bowl. Grate the butter on the large holes of the grater straight into the flour mix. Pop the entire bowl into the fridge.
Whisk the egg in a separate bowl. Add cream and vanilla, whisking to combine. Pop it into the fridge.
Get your cranberries ready. Have your milk and Turbinado sugar ready for brushing the scones.
Preheat the oven to 400°. Set the oven racks to the lower third of the oven.
Take the bowl with the flour out of the fridge and combine everything with a fork. The butter is already grated so you are not looking to break it down more, simply toss it so the butter is covered with flour. Rub the mixture between the palms of your hands quickly to make long strands - they will make such flaky scones. Make a little well in the middle and pour your egg/cream mixture. Combine it with a fork and then with your hands into soft dough.
The gentler you are with the dough the lighter your scones will be; try not to mix or knead the dough, and instead gently press it together or knead with your fingers very lightly. Turn the dough onto the lightly floured surface and very gently pat it into 8-10" circle. Lay a fifth of your cranberries on one half of your dough and fold the dough over the cranberries like a book. Repeat the process laying some cranberries and folding the dough over them at least 5 times until all the cranberries are used up. What this will do is create those beautiful flaky layers in the dough as well as ensure the cranberries are evenly distributed.
When all the cranberries are used up, pat the dough into a circle around 1.5" high.
Slice the scone disk into 8 even pieces. Brush gently with milk and sprinkle with Turbinado sugar. Place scone slices on a lightly-greased or parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes until lightly browned on top, the toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the scone - or ideally, measure with an instant read digital thermometer - the internal temperature of the scone should register 200°. Remove from the oven and place on wire ricks to cool.
The scones are absolutely amazing and delicious as is. So you may skip the glaze. Allow them to cool for 5 minutes (otherwise hot cranberries bursting can burn you.) And feel free to enjoy them warm or cold.
If you are interested in the additional lemon glaze your scones will go from great and delicious - to absolutely amazing! Be sure your scones are completely cool before glazing.
Whisk powdered sugar and lemon juice until smooth. You can make the glaze thick and drizzle strips of icing over the cooled scones. Alternatively, you can make it a bit thinner and cover the entire surface of the scone as in my pictures. Allow the scones to sit uncovered for an hour for the icing to set. Enjoy!
Ingredients
Directions
The key to successful scones is ensuring everything is very cold. So let's get everything ready first:
Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Whisk it well to combine. Grate the lemon zest and add to the bowl. Grate the butter on the large holes of the grater straight into the flour mix. Pop the entire bowl into the fridge.
Whisk the egg in a separate bowl. Add cream and vanilla, whisking to combine. Pop it into the fridge.
Get your cranberries ready. Have your milk and Turbinado sugar ready for brushing the scones.
Preheat the oven to 400°. Set the oven racks to the lower third of the oven.
Take the bowl with the flour out of the fridge and combine everything with a fork. The butter is already grated so you are not looking to break it down more, simply toss it so the butter is covered with flour. Rub the mixture between the palms of your hands quickly to make long strands - they will make such flaky scones. Make a little well in the middle and pour your egg/cream mixture. Combine it with a fork and then with your hands into soft dough.
The gentler you are with the dough the lighter your scones will be; try not to mix or knead the dough, and instead gently press it together or knead with your fingers very lightly. Turn the dough onto the lightly floured surface and very gently pat it into 8-10" circle. Lay a fifth of your cranberries on one half of your dough and fold the dough over the cranberries like a book. Repeat the process laying some cranberries and folding the dough over them at least 5 times until all the cranberries are used up. What this will do is create those beautiful flaky layers in the dough as well as ensure the cranberries are evenly distributed.
When all the cranberries are used up, pat the dough into a circle around 1.5" high.
Slice the scone disk into 8 even pieces. Brush gently with milk and sprinkle with Turbinado sugar. Place scone slices on a lightly-greased or parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes until lightly browned on top, the toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the scone - or ideally, measure with an instant read digital thermometer - the internal temperature of the scone should register 200°. Remove from the oven and place on wire ricks to cool.
The scones are absolutely amazing and delicious as is. So you may skip the glaze. Allow them to cool for 5 minutes (otherwise hot cranberries bursting can burn you.) And feel free to enjoy them warm or cold.
If you are interested in the additional lemon glaze your scones will go from great and delicious - to absolutely amazing! Be sure your scones are completely cool before glazing.
Whisk powdered sugar and lemon juice until smooth. You can make the glaze thick and drizzle strips of icing over the cooled scones. Alternatively, you can make it a bit thinner and cover the entire surface of the scone as in my pictures. Allow the scones to sit uncovered for an hour for the icing to set. Enjoy!
