These Vegan Cranberry Orange Scones are light and tender are topped with and simple vegan orange glaze. And they are ready from start to finish in just about 30 minutes! The perfect vegan breakfast or brunch treat.
Scones are a top tier breakfast and brunch pastry. They come in a wide range of flavors like Vegan Blueberry Scones, or Birthday Cake Scones or even Earl Grey Scones. There is a scone flavor for everyone!
And when they are good, they have a slightly crisp exterior with a light and fluffy interior. But, when they are bad, they can be crumbly, dry and tough. So, I'm going to walk you through step-by-step how to make the best Vegan Cranberry Orange Scones.
Jump to:
Why You'll Love This Recipe
I absolutely love this recipe and I know you will, too. Here are the top 5 reasons why:
- This scone recipe requires basic ingredients.
- And they are ready from start to finish in about 30 minutes.
- The cranberry orange combination is so delicious in these vegan scones!
- And the scones bake up light and fluffy.
- And they are dairy-free and vegan so anyone can enjoy them!
Ingredients
Vegan Butter: You need a butter that comes in stick form for this recipe. I recommend Earth Balance Soy-Free Baking Sticks.
Non-Dairy Milk: I used oat milk, but any non-dairy milk will work, here.
Dried Cranberries: I like dried cranberries for this recipe. Fresh cranberries are a little too tart for my liking.
Orange Zest: All of the orange flavor in these vegan cranberry scones and the glaze comes from orange zest. Orange zest has so much flavor so, you don't need much! And if you love orange, you have to try my Vegan Orange Cake!
Variations
You can substitute any dried fruit for the cranberries here. These scones would be great with golden raisins, dried cherries or even dried blueberries!
Or, if you like cranberries but don't love orange, substitute the orange zest and juice with lemon zest and juice.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1. In a large bowl, combine the granulated sugar and orange zest. Rub the zest into the sugar to release the oils in the zest.
Step 2. Add the flour, baking powder and baking soda into the bowl. Then, add the cold cubed vegan butter.
Step 3. Use your fingers to cut the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture looks like a coarse meal.
Step 4. Add the non-dairy milk, lemon juice and vanilla and toss the mixture together until its mostly moist. Then, add the cranberries.
Step 5. Turn the dough out onto a surface and fold it over a few times until it comes together. Then, pat the dough out into a rectangle and cut the dough into 8 scones.
Step 6. Transfer the scones to a parchment-lined baking sheet.
Step 7. And bake until golden brown.
Step 8. Mix the vegan orange glaze and spread it onto the baked scones and serve!
Recipe FAQs
To store, place the scones in an airtight container and store at room temperature for up to 1 day.
Or, store in the freezer for up to a month.
Keep the ingredients cold and don't work the dough too much once the wet ingredients are added into the bowl. Lightly toss everything just until it comes together.
The ingredients are the same as non-vegan scones! But you swap butter for non-dairy butter and milk for non-dairy milk.
Expert Recipe Tips
After cubing the vegan butter and mixing the non-dairy milk with the lemon juice and vanilla, place them back in the refrigerator until you are ready to use them
You want to keep the ingredients as cold as possible, here. This is because the little pieces of butter throughout the scone dough will release steam and help lift the scones when baking for light and tender Vegan Cranberry Orange Scones.
Once you add the vegan buttermilk into the bowl, gently toss everything together just until it is all moist. If you mix too much once the liquid is added, the scones will get tough.
Looking for More Brunch Recipes to Try?
If you tried this Vegan Cranberry Orange Scones recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting today!
📖 Recipe
Vegan Cranberry Orange Scones
Equipment
- 1 Large Mixing Bowl
- 1 Cutting Board
- 1 Chefs Knife
- 1 Baking Sheet
- Parchment Paper
- Measuring Cups and Spoons
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoon Non-Dairy Milk
- 2 teaspoon Lemon Juice
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- ½ Cup Granulated Sugar
- Zest of ¾ of an Orange
- 2 Cups All Purpose Flour
- 2 teaspoon Baking Powder
- ¼ teaspoon Baking Soda
- 8 tablespoon Vegan Butter, cold, cut into ¼" cubes
- ½ Cup Sweetened Dried Cranberries, roughly chopped
For the Glaze
- 1 Cup Powdered Sugar, sifted
- Zest of ¼ of an Orange
- 4-5 teaspoon Orange Juice
Instructions
To Make the Scones
- Preheat oven to 400* F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a small bowl, combine non-dairy milk, lemon juice and vanilla. Place in the refrigerator until ready to use.6 tablespoon Non-Dairy Milk, 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract, 2 teaspoon Lemon Juice
- In a large bowl, combine granulated sugar and orange zest. Rub the zest into the sugar to release the oils.½ Cup Granulated Sugar, Zest of ¾ of an Orange
- Add flour, baking powder and baking soda into the bowl with the orange zest and sugar.2 Cups All Purpose Flour, 2 teaspoon Baking Powder, ¼ teaspoon Baking Soda
- Add the cold, cubed vegan butter and cut in, using your fingers, until the mixture looks like a coarse meal. Then add the dried cranberries.8 tablespoon Vegan Butter, cold, cut into ¼" cubes, ½ Cup Sweetened Dried Cranberries, roughly chopped
- Add the non-dairy milk mixture and toss together until everything is moistened. It will look dry at first but it will come together. Then lightly flour a work surface and pour the dough out onto it. Fold the dough onto itself a few times to form a more cohesive dough, then pat it out to about a 9x5 rectangle.
- Cut the rectangle in half lengthwise, then make three cuts widthwise to yield 8 scones.
- Place the scones onto a parchment lined baking sheet and bake in a 400* F oven to 19-21 minutes or until the scones are golden all the way across the bottom
Make the Orange Glaze
- In a medium bowl, combine the powdered sugar and the orange zest. Add 3 teaspoons of orange juice and stir with a whisk until smooth and well combined. Add the fourth teaspoon of orange juice if you want a thinner glaze.1 Cup Powdered Sugar, sifted, Zest of ¼ of an Orange, 4-5 teaspoon Orange Juice
Glaze the Scones
- Allow the scones to cool slightly, then using a knife or offset spatula to spread each scone with orange glaze. Garnish with a couple of dried cranberries if desired.
Beverly LeGaux says
Is it milk or buttermilk both listed? Or just a typo.
Megan Calipari says
Any reference to buttermilk is talking about the combination of non-dairy milk and lemon juice which makes a vegan "buttermilk"!
Laureen says
Stop whatever you are doing and make these scones!! Once you have your mise en place, they come together in minutes and are delightfully light and moist with a delicate crumb. Loads of flavour and just sweet enough. Loved by vegans and non vegans.
I think this is the perfect base recipe to change up both sweet and savoury flavours. The only change I made was to add an extra teaspoon of lemon juice and decease the flour by ~ 2 Tbsp to adjust for our dry climate.
Thanks for the great recipe!!
Chez says
Can I substitute gluten free flour instead of the all purpose flour? Thanks
Megan Calipari says
I don't recommend it! I have a gluten-free scone recipe though, and you could just swap cranberries and orange zest for the blackberries it calls for. Find the recipe here: https://earthly-provisions.com/gluten-free-blackberry-scones-vegan/