Sweet and tart fresh cranberry scones, with sugary crisp edges and fluffy, soft centers. These easy scones come together quickly with simple ingredients in one big bowl. Egg free.
Recipe by Laura Bolton - Fork Knife Swoon on November 17, 2023
12 Tbsp (1-1/2 sticks or 170) cold unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons
3/4 cup (180g) whole milk, plus more for topping
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup fresh cranberries
optional: coarse sanding sugar (such as Demerara or Turbinado), for topping
Categories
Dessert
Cuisine
American
Steps
Preheat the oven to 375℉. Line a large sheet pan with parchment paper. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt until well-combined.
Use a pastry blender to incorporate the butter into the dry ingredients, until a shaggy, sandy mixture forms, with butter pieces about the size of large peas.
Drizzle the milk and vanilla over the crumbs, and use a spatula to stir until mostly combined.
When the crumbs are mostly moistened, switch to using your hands, and fold in the cranberries.
Gently and firmly knead the dough together, until all of the flour mixture is combined, and the dough holds together in a large clump. Work quickly so the butter doesn’t warm too much, and be careful not to overwork the dough.
Shape the dough into a flat, round disk, about 1-1/2 inches thick. If your bowl is large enouh, you can do this in the bowl, or on a lightly floured surface. It does not have to be perfectly round. Some craggy, irregular edges are okay!
Use a sharp knife or a bench scraper to cut the dough into 6 equal wedges.
Transfer the dough to the prepared baking sheet, leaving a few inches of space between them. Lightly brush the tops of the scones with milk, and sprinkle with the sanding sugar.
Bake for 20-30 minutes, until the scones are lightly golden brown, gently puffed, and cooked through. Remove from the oven and serve warm. Enjoy!!
Reviews
Patty B on 2023-12-23 (5 stars): Wow! These came out so great, they look professionally done! They do rise a little in the oven, making them fluffy, and they weren't dry tasting at all, like some scones. The cranberries made them pretty and gave great sweet/tangy flavor.
The glaze is delicious too.
I did one thing differently: I didn't notice that it said to use cold butter, and I had mine at room temperature. But it made it easy to mix with the pastry blender, and I was relieved that it seemed, to my untrained eye, to make no appreciable difference in the outcome!
Highly recommend this recipe!
Lulu on 2024-09-26 (5 stars): I'll admit, I broke the rules and used dried cranberries because they were all I could find before we're in holiday season, these scones were still lovely. I used a food processor for the dough with frozen butter so that they could be a little more forgiving on butter temp. My picky fiance loved them too, so 5/5
Jeanne on 2025-03-27 (5 stars): I used 1% milk and they still turned out perfect! What a treat! I also cut them into 12 for portion control. Still turned out nice sized.
Pam on 2025-06-20 (5 stars): Very good! Might be better than some bakery scones I’ve had. Only had frozen cranberries, sprinkled coarse maple sugar on top. This recipe is a keeper
PSL on 2025-06-29 (5 stars): Very yummy 😋! Not too sweet at all, which I love. I added some orange zest to the flour mixture, because I love the flavor combo. And also made these sourdough by incorporating some discard and adjusting the flour and milk quantities. Used frozen whole cranberries which helps to not overly warm the butter when mixing 😉. Definitely a keeper! Thank you!
Tina Brenton on 2025-09-07 (5 stars): Oh my gosh, I am not a baker and I have tried scones so many times they’ve always been a disaster but today I tried this recipe and they worked out. Perfect I’m so happy with myself and with my baking this morning these are delicious.
Ryley on 2025-10-25 (5 stars): I made these by the recipe, except I used 2 cups fresh cranberries and ½ cup sugar. They were AMAZING!! I love this recipe! So easy..crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside. Perfect base for so many combos. Thank you!!
Jane on 2025-11-20 (5 stars): The best scones I've ever made or eaten. I found this recipe a few months ago when I left the Canadian Arctic bringing with me my precious arctic cranberries (lingonberries) in a cooler. Since then I've made them numerous times, and now my little next-door neighbours ask me regularly if I am going to be making cranberry scones soon. Everyone loves them. I'm finally printing the recipe because the power went out recently and I had it in my mind to make these scones, but I couldn't access internet. So I called my sister an hour away who had to find it online and read me the ingredients. Amazing recipe. Thanks for sharing!
Laura S on 2025-11-30 (5 stars): I was drawn to this recipe because it had a few ingredients and seemed simple. I was nervous that there weren't many reviews but it is fantastic! I've never made scones before and I had a lot of leftover fresh cranberries from thanksgiving. It was the perfect solution. If you're questioning whether to use this recipe like I was, do not, it's so good! The kids and my husband are obsessed.
Alex L on 2025-12-07 (5 stars): I have made these several times now, each time I have used gluten free 1:1 flour. They have turned out beautifully each time. GF flour makes more a more dense scone, as expected with most GF baking, but they are incredibly delicious, not dry and well worth making. Sometimes I add the zest of 1 or 2 oranges to the dough for some extra deliciousness.
Fantastic recipe! I will continue making these for years to come.
xandra messina on 2025-12-24 (5 stars): My first time making scones and they were delicious!... They were just as you promised, easy , light, crisp and flaky.By only making 6, they were very large, so next time I think I’ll try making 8. I’ll be using this recipe again soon and trying blueberries.
Thank you.
Ann Marie on 2026-01-01 (5 stars): I cut this recipe into 1/3 and it’s perfect. I use whatever liquid I have. Heavy cream with ice water, flavored creamer, I use Fabbri cherry juice instead of vanilla extract or vanilla paste. It’s really a good basic biscuit recipe made into scone. Thanks
