These perfectly tender, flaky Fresh Orange Scones have such a bright citrus flavor and are topped off with a sweet + tangy orange glaze.
I have been making these scones for years and they never fail to be loved by all who try them! Even the skeptics that say they don't like orange flavored desserts. I was one of those people until I started making these fresh orange scones and now they're one of my favorite things to make! They are just bursting with fresh orange flavor and have such a tender, flaky texture. They are absolute perfection.
Want to try your hand at some more scone recipes? Try my Raspberry White Chocolate Almond Scones or Cinnamon Scones.
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Why you'll love this recipe
- The glaze on top is what truly brings everything together. It's sweet but tangy and it finishes these guys off perfectly.
- They have the perfect scone texture - dense and slightly crumbly but soft and tender at the same time. Just like my lemon blueberry scones!
- These are neck and neck with Panera's orange scones. In my humble opinion, these are even better!
Ingredients
- Unsalted butter: Butter is incorporated by grating it while cold because it's much easier to distribute it evenly throughout the dough in tiny pieces.
- Orange juice: Freshly squeezed from the oranges that are being zested for this recipe.
See recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and easy-to-follow instructions.
Substitutions & Variations
- Cranberry Orange Scones: Add 1 cup of dried cranberries.
- Chocolate Orange Scones: Add ½ cup of chopped chocolate or mini chocolate chips. Drizzling melted chocolate on top would also be delicious!
- Blueberry Orange Scones: Add 1 cup of fresh or frozen blueberries to the dough. I have a lemon blueberry scone recipe that uses this same delicious basic scone dough as the base.
- Fresh Lemon Scones: Substitute lemon zest and juice for the orange zest and juice.
How to make Fresh Orange Scones
Step 1: Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and lemon zest. Set aside.
Step 2: Grate frozen butter into flour mixture. Using your hands, work in the butter until the texture resembles a coarse meal.
Step 3: Whisk together sour cream & egg and gently add to flour mixture.
Step 4: Gently stir until just combined being careful not to over-work the dough or squish the blueberries. Dough will be sticky and crumbly at first but will come together as you form it.
Step 5: Pat dough on a lightly floured surface into an 8" circle about ¾" thick.
Step 6: Cut into 8 triangles and place on prepared baking sheet 2-3 inches apart.
Step 7: Place scone dough triangles on a lined baking sheet 1-2" apart. Bake 15-17-minutes.
Step 8: Whisk glaze ingredients together until smooth. Dip cooled scones into glaze or drizzle it on.
Jessica's Tips
Drizzle glaze on completely cooled scones. Warm scones will absorb the glaze making them too moist and soft. While still delicious, they won't have a dense, crumbly texture scones are known for.
Storage
Store orange scones at room temperature for up to 3 days stored in an airtight container.
Freezing
To freeze: Prepare the recipe all the way up until ready to bake. Push the scone dough triangles together into a circle loosely and wrap tight with a layer of plastic wrap and then a layer of foil. Place into a large resealable bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Bake from frozen on a parchment-lined baking sheet, separating the triangles slightly. Prepare glaze and drizzle on scones after baking.
The main difference is that scones have eggs in the dough and biscuits do not. Other than that they are relatively the same.
Did you make this recipe?
Please leave a ⭐️ review below and tag @sprinkle_some_sugar on Instagram!
📋 Recipe
Fresh Orange Scones
Ingredients
Orange Scones
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- zest of one large orange or two medium oranges
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter frozen
- ½ cup sour cream
- 1 egg
Orange Glaze
- 3 tbs unsalted butter melted
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2-4 tbs freshly squeezed orange juice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F and set oven rack to the middle position. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, set aside.
- In a medium-sized bowl, gently toss flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside. In a separate small bowl, whisk sour cream and egg until completely smooth. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, stir sugar and orange zest together until sugar is moistened and zest is evenly distributed. Pour in flour mixture and toss to combine.
- Grate cold butter into mixture. Using your hands, work in the butter until the mixture resembles a coarse meal. Gently stir in sour cream mixture until just about combined. Do not over work the dough! Very gently press the dough against the sides of the bowl a few times and form a ball. The dough will be sticky at first but will come together as you form it.
- Place dough on a lightly floured surface and lightly pat into an 8" circle about ¾" thick. Use a very sharp knife to cut into 8 triangles (like a pizza).
- Transfer triangles onto prepared baking sheet. You can arrange them in two rows, 4 in each row, or arrange them in a circle shape - leaving about 1" between each one.
- Bake scones for 15-17 minutes or until the tops begin to golden. Don't take them out too early or they will be too soft. Allow them to cool for 10 minutes on hot pan before transferring onto a wire rack to finish cooling completely.
Prepare fresh orange glaze
- Whisk together melted butter, confectioner's sugar, vanilla and orange juice until smooth. Once scones are completely cooled, go ahead and either dip the tops of the scones into the glaze or drizzle it on top with a spoon.
Notes
Nutrition
The provided nutritional information is an estimate per serving. Accuracy is not guaranteed.
Connie says
I was sold as soon as I saw that your husband loves Panera's Orange Scones (me too) and that he says these are better.
I am hosting an Easter Brunch this year, and they will definitely be on my menu!
Thanks so much!
Jessica says
These are so perfect for Easter!
Carrie says
I’ve made these scones several times, and I love them. They are amazing! My question to you is do you think there would be a way to make these eggless and still have them turn out? A friend of mine has an egg allergy, and I would like to make a version that she can try ? Any advice would be appreciated!!
L says
Just made these. Wow, really delicious, flaky and flavorful! Thanks.
Karen Tynes says
Good recipe. I used Gold Medal flour and found I had to add 1/4 more liquid to get the dough to come together. I used kefer since there was baking soda in the recipe. The texture was excellent, but in my oven it needs about 3 more minutes of baking time. I found the scone light with a very delicate orange flavor. Next time I may try Mary Berry's technique of boiling a whole orange and then chopping up the whole orange.
Kate says
These scones were delicious, even GF with cup for cup flour. GF spouse said they were the best scones ever (and I've made a lot of scones)! Thanks for the wonderful recipe!
Jessica says
So great to know! You're very welcome, Kate! 🙂
KelsyE says
I am on a very low sodium diet and one of the things I miss THE MOST are the orange scones from Panera. I was thrilled to find this recipe and am happy to report they are truly delicious! I use my sodium free replacements for the baking soda and baking powder, and I also tried white-wheat flour and these are still wonderful. I make then often.
Thank you!
Jessica says
That's so awesome to hear! Thanks so much for sharing your low sodium experience!
Bruce Hawkins says
Yup. I'm another low sodium guy. The only way to control sodium is to not put it in! Man O' Man are these good. I just tuned 68 today and I just spent it in my man kitchen downstairs making wonderful things. This was one of them.
Jessica says
That's so wonderful to hear! I hope you had an amazing birthday, Bruce!
MaryAnn says
I just made these this morning and they were AMAZING! My whole family loved them. All 4 of my kiddos and the hubby.
When I went to grab my sour cream I realized that one of my kiddos had made it into ranch dip. Gah! Thank heavens I had some whipping cream, so I substituted that and it worked well.
Also, I did most of it in my food processor. Started with the sugar and orange zest, then added the dry ingredients, then processed in little chunks of the butter. It worked great! I then poured it into a bowl and added the wet ingredients.
Thank you so much for this amazing recipe! I can't wait to make it again with sour cream!
Karen says
I made these, and they were amazing! I made them smaller by dividing the dough into two balls, and flattening each b all to 6" diameter circles. I also added a cup of white chocolate chips..
Jessica says
Great ideas!
Hope K says
These were my first attempt with scones, and they turned out GREAT! So yummy! I used blood orange! So pretty! Perfect for valentines day!
Jessica says
Oh, yum!