Bakery Style Cranberry Lemon Scones

Three cranberry scones with icing drizzle in a stack.

Bakery Style Cranberry Lemon Scones

Course: Biscuits & Muffins

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 15

Cook Time: 20

Servings: Scones

Calories: 356kcal

Author: Deanna

These bakery style cranberry lemon scones are finished with a tangy lemon drizzle. Perfect for breakfast or with a cup of afternoon tea.

Print Recipe

Ingredients

2.5 Cups Flour All purpose
1 Tbsp Baking powder
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 Cup Cold butter, cut into cubes
1/2 Cup Sugar
1 Cup 2% Milk divided
2 Tbsp Lemon juice fresh
2 tsp Lemon zest zest from one medium lemon
3/4 Cup Fresh or frozen cranberries

Egg Wash

1 Egg beaten
2 tsp Milk

For the Lemon Drizzle

1/2 Cup Powdered sugar
2 Tbsp Fresh lemon juice

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees
Place flour, baking powder, salt and butter in a food processor and pulse until it resembles coarse crumbs. Alternatively, you can cut the butter into the dry ingredients with a pastry blender. Dump the mixture into a large bowl.
Mix 3/4 cup of the milk and 2 tbsp lemon juice together in a small bowl or measuring cup and let stand for 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, add the sugar to the dry ingredients, then stir in the lemon zest.
Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the 3/4 cup of the milk mixed with the lemon juice, stir just until combined. If there are any dry spots, add the remaining milk 1 tbsp at a time until the dough has come together. You are looking for a dough that is just slightly sticky, but not wet. Then fold in the cranberries.
Turn the dough out onto a floured surface. I like to put parchment paper down first as it makes cleaning up easy.
Sprinkle the top of the dough with a bit of flour, then gently press the dough into a 9-inch circle. Cut into 8 wedges with a sharp knife or pizza cutter. It is important not to handle the dough more than necessary or it will become tough.
Place the wedges on a parchment-lined baking sheet with 1-inch of room between them.
Whisk the egg and 2 tsp of milk together and brush over scones.
Place in the oven and bake 20 minutes or until golden brown.
Remove scones from the oven to a cooling rack.
Allow the scones to cool for about 10 minutes. Then mix the powdered sugar and 2 tbsp lemon juice. Drizzle over the scones and serve.

Video

Notes

Fresh or frozen cranberries may be used. If using frozen cranberries, you may need to add a bit of extra flour to the counter and to the top of the scones as you press them out. As the cranberries thaw they can release a bit of water making the dough a bit stickier.

If the scone wedges feel sticky on the bottom after cutting them, it can help to use a pie lifter to move them to the baking sheet.

When zesting the lemon, be careful not to go too deep. You want to use only the bright yellow part of the lemon; the white part (pith) will make the flavour bitter.

You may not need all of the milk. Start with the 3/4 cup of milk mixed with the lemon juice if the dough seems dry, then add the remaining 1/4 cup of milk, 1 tablespoon at a time, until it comes together. Lower-fat milk will be thinner, resulting in a wetter dough, while higher-fat milk is thicker and may require a bit more to get the right consistency.

Nutrition