Orange Scones

Orange Scones are tender, buttery pastries infused with a double dose of orange flavor. Finished with a drizzle of orange powdered sugar glaze. The perfect sweet treat for breakfast or brunch.

Have you ever had the orange scones at Panera?  If you have, then you know how scrumptious they are.  So full of bright orange flavor. So decadent.

Those scones were my inspiration for this recipe.  To achieve a bold punch of orange flavor, both the juice and zest of the orange are added to the dough.

Then, the scones are glazed with powdered sugar icing spiked with more orange juice and more zest.  The flakes of zest are so pretty.  There is no mistaking these are Orange scones.

Ingredients

• Butter
• Cake flour has a finer texture which contributes to the tender crumb of these scones.
• Granulated and powdered sugar
• Heavy cream
• Baking powder
• Salt
• Oranges - zest and juice

Step-by-step instructions

See the recipe card for complete instructions and ingredient amounts.

1. Grate the butter in a mixing bowl and freeze while prepping the rest of the ingredients.
2. Zest and juice the oranges.  Set aside.
3. Remove the butter from the freezer. Add the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and half of the orange zest. Using a fork, toss the ingredients to combine.
4. Add the heavy cream and ¼ cup of orange juice (for one cup of total liquid).  Stir until the dough comes together.  Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured board.  Form the dough into a circle one inch thick.  Cut into 6 equal pieces.  Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet.  Chill while the oven preheats.
5. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Bake the scones for 15-20 minutes until lightly browned. Let cool.
6. For the icing, in a small bowl, combine the melted butter, powdered sugar, remaining orange zest, and enough orange juice to achieve desired consistency.  Approx. ¼ cup will yield a drizzling consistency.

Tips for making scones

• Grate the butter and freeze it while gathering the rest of the ingredients. These small shards of frozen butter create a flaky texture and can easily be dispersed throughout the flour by tossing it with a fork. Grating the butter takes the place of cutting it into the flour with a pastry cutter. 
• Cold butter is essential for flaky scones.  After forming the scones, chill them while the oven preheats to ensure the butter stays cold.
• Cake flour yields an extra tender crumb, but all-purpose flour can certainly be used.
• Don't overwork the dough.  This will create tough dough.  Work the dough just enough to bring it together and form the scones.
• Fresh orange zest and juice - this is a must!  The zest packs so much fresh citrus flavor, as does the juice.  And the zest is so pretty!

Equipment

Mixing bowl | Microplane | Juicer | Measuring cups | Liquid measuring cup | Bench scraper | Grater | Parchment paper | Half sheet pan

More scone recipes to try

📖 Recipe Card