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.
Gabriella Sacchetti says
I will be making these soon. Love orange car too much. A top for you a for fellow readers: I always have fresh orange zest on hand in my freezer. I learned years ago via Cuisinart’s manual and recipe book that whenever I have organic lemons or oranges, I never let the zest go to waste.
Simply peel the oranges or lemons using a potato peeler “before” juicing. Throw these peels into your cuisinart food processor and add a few tablespoons of normal granulated sugar (the sugar provides grit or resistance). Now pulse the peels together with sugar into a fine zest. If too wet add some sugar. I store the zest made in this manner in airtight plastic containers in my freezer and retrieve for recipes as needed. Sometimes it will clump in freezer -no big deal. I will scoop it out with a spoon and cream it into any recipe with butter.
I also will make lemon and orange sugar using this zest. After it is finely minced, I would add sugar, say 1/2 cup at a time until I get the saturation I desire. I use this sugar for dusting scones, muffins, loaves etc before baking. Trust me this works. You’ll always have zest for baking, dusting sugars and best of all never let organic fruit zest go to waste.
I freeze juice I cannot drink or use in ice cube trays for future use.
Gabriella Sacchetti says
Dear moderator
I checked the spelling. Would you replace my post with this please.
________
A tip for you and for fellow readers: I always have fresh orange zest on hand in my freezer. I learned years ago via Cuisinart’s manual and recipe book that whenever I have organic lemons or oranges, I never let the zest go to waste.
Simply peel the oranges or lemons using a potato peeler “before” juicing. Throw these peels into your Cuisinart food processor and add a few tablespoons of normal granulated sugar (the sugar provides grit or resistance). Now pulse the peels together with sugar into a fine zest. If too wet add some sugar. I store the zest made in this manner in airtight plastic containers in my freezer and retrieve for recipes as needed. Sometimes it will clump in freezer -no big deal. I will scoop it out with a spoon and cream it into any recipe with butter. Or just let it defrost in a minute or so and use.
I also will make lemon and orange sugars using this zest. After it is finely minced, I would add sugar, say 1/2 cup at a time until I get the saturation I desire. I use this sugar for dusting scones, muffins, loaves etc before baking.
Trust me this works! You’ll always have zest for baking, dusting sugars and best of all never let organic fruit zest go to waste. And it is efficient and productive. You get lots without scraping any knuckles on zester or microplaner.
I also freeze juice I cannot drink or use in ice cube trays for future use.
Jessica says
These are some really great tips, thank you!
Nancy says
I had never tried scones but these sounded good, but they were fantastic!! And easy, thanks!!
Jessica says
Awesome! Thank you, Nancy!
Michelle says
Made these today and my husband really liked them. The dough cane together nicely- very easy recipe. Thanks for sharing!
Jessica says
That's great to hear! Thanks for letting me know! 🙂
Ruth says
I used lemon instead of orange and added dried cranberries and dried blueberries. So yummy and they don’t even last a day in my house.
Jessica says
Yummy!!
JJ says
OMGosh, these are THE BEST SCONES I’ve ever had....I didn’t have sour cream and used my own Greek yogurt. I had to ad a couple of tablespoons to milk to bind the dough together.
That being said, the scones are light and golden and MOIST! Most scones I’ve had you needed clotted cream and jams to make them palatable...this stand on their own. Thank You!
Jessica says
Yes! They are super easy- that's why I love them too! 🙂 So glad you loved the scones and that they came out great with your substitutions!
Karri says
Love the recipe! Easy to make and so scrumptious. My fiancé thinks it needs more orange flavor. I feel it is a perfect subtle hint of orange. I will make these again.
Jessica says
I agree, I think it's the perfect subtle orange flavor. You can always add more, though! 🙂
Vicki says
I really liked the recipe. I like my flavors bold so I would do at least the zest of 2 oranges. My glaze was runnier than yours and made way too much. I made it a 2nd time without the orange and added chocolate chips instead. It was also a hit at the baby shower.
Jessica says
Sounds yummy with chocolate chips!
Angela says
I have made these 2x since my sister found this recipe before Christmas. They are wonderful. Mine have a bit of a bitter taste after swallowing. Bad baking powder or soda? I know I didn't take to much off the orange for zest. Will make these again and again. My hubby is British and says thanks mate. 🙂
Jessica says
Hmm, I'm unsure about the bitter taste. But I'm glad you loved them anyway!
Jen Hynes says
My eleven year old made these for the family and OH MY GOODNESS are they ever good!!
Chris Glantz says
They are wonderful! I made them for the first time for a brunch, and everyone loved them.