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Fresh Orange Scones

Orange Scones (Bright, Buttery & Tender)

These Orange Scones bake up buttery, tender, and beautifully bright, with fresh orange zest adding a sunny lift to every bite. This small batch is perfect for cozy mornings—easy to mix, lightly sweet, and wonderfully fragrant. A simple homemade treat that feels special without making a full tray.
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Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes
Servings: 8
Course: Breakfast
Cuisine: American
Ingredients Equipment Method Video Notes

Ingredients
  

Big Batch Ingredients (Makes 8 pieces)

  • 2 1/4 cups Cake Flour or All-Purpose Flour
  • 1/3 cup granulated White Sugar
  • 1 tbsp Baking Powder
  • 1 tsp Cornstarch
  • 1/8 tsp of Salt
  • Zest of 2 large Oranges
  • 1/2 cup + 5 tbsp frozen unsalted Butter grated or cut into 1-inch cubes
  • 3/4 cup Buttermilk plus extra for brushing the top of the scones
  • You can make your own buttermilk by adding 1 tsp lemon juice or white vinegar to 3/4 cup milk. Leave for 5 minutes before using.
  • You can also use powder milk. Add 3 tbsp of powder milk to 3/4 cup of water then and 1 tsp lemon juice or

Small Batch Ingredients (Makes 4 pieces)

  • 1 cup Cake Flour or All-Purpose Flour
  • 2 tablespoon granulated White Sugar
  • 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
  • 1/8 teaspoon Cornstarch
  • 1/8 teaspoon of Salt
  • Zest of 2 large Oranges
  • 1/4 frozen unsalted Butter grated or cut into 1-inch cubes
  • 7 – 8 tablespoon Buttermilk plus extra for brushing the top of the scones
  • You can make your own buttermilk by adding 1 teaspoon lemon juice or white vinegar to 8 tablespoon milk. Leave for 5 minutes until it curdle
  • You can also use powder milk. Add 2 tablespoon of powder milk to 8 tablespoon of water then and 1 teaspoon lemon juice or white vinegar. Leave for 5 minutes before using.

Sugar Glaze:

  • 1/4 cup Icing/Confectioners Sugar
  • 1-2 tablespoon freshly squeeze Orange Juice pulp removed OR milk, OR water
  • Zest of 1 Orange

Equipment

  • Oven
  • Mixer

Method
 

  1. Preheat oven to 375ºF / 180ºC. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
  2. Dry Ingredients: In the bowl of a food processor, put flour, sugar, baking powder, cornstarch and salt. Process few seconds just to mix (around 10 seconds).
  3. Manual: Alternatively, you can mix everything in a large bowl, from all the dry ingredients to wet ingredients. Add the wet ingredients gradually until the dough starts to come together.
  4. Add Butter & Orange Zest: Scatter butter and orange zest over this mixture, and pulse a few times until the butter is the size of peas.
  5. Alternatively, you can use a large cheese grater, or a pastry cutter.
  6. Buttermilk: Transfer into a large mixing bowl (if using food processor) and gradually pour buttermilk and mix everything until most of it is moist enough to make the mixture to clump together. You may NOT need to use all the buttermilk, so it is important to add it gradually. STOP when you are able to form a ball out of the dough.
  7. Shape: Dump it onto the kitchen counter and quickly give it a few turns to avoid very dry spots. Do not over mix,the more you touch it and mix it, the tougher the baked scones will be. Stop once it starts to clump together. Form it into a disk, about 5 (thicker scones) or 6 inch diameter, cut in quarters and stacks each portion of top of each other. Gently press- down and re-shape into a 5-6 inch disk. The stacking will help create layers in the scones.
  8. Chill: Freeze for at least 30 minutes up to 1 hr before baking. The freezing will help lessen the spreading and will produce a thcker scones.
  9. Cut: Cut the scones into 8 (if making a large batch or 4 if making a small batch) arrange them on the baking sheets lined with parchment paper.
  10. Brush Top: Brush top with additional buttermilk or for better browning, brush the top with egg wash (1 beaten egg + 1 teaspoon water)
  11. Bake for about 20- 25 minutes or until top turned golden brown and the scones are puff-up and tall. Rotate the pan half way the baking time. This helps even baking of the scones.
  12. Tip: If baking a frozen scone straight from the oven, bake for 25 – 30 minutes or until top turned golden brown and rise.
  13. Cool in a wire rack. As this stage, you can serve this as is o with a dusting of icing sugar. If you are galzing it, make sure the scone is completely cooled.
  14. Make the Glaze: Mix icing sugar, orange juice and zest of orange. Stir until smooth. If you want a thicker glazed, just add more sugar.
  15. Drizzle: Drizzle the glaze on top of the cooled scones
  16. Re-heating: Re-heat in a 300F for 10 -15 minutes. If you have the sugar glaze on top, expect that this will melt. I suggest adding glaze only to the one that you are consuming for the day.
  17. Storage: Scones are best served the day they are made but if you have leftover, cover and store in room temperature (away from sunlight) for 3 days, more than that it is best kept in refrigerator. If you plan to eat it for few days, I suggest add the glaze on top so you can re-heat the scone when you want to it eat.

Sugar Glaze Instructions:

  1. Mix icing sugar and liquid. Add orange juice/milk/water gradually. Start with 1 tsp, then mix. Add the remaining liquid until you get the consistency that you like. If you want it thicker and sweeter, use more sugar. If you want it runny and less sweet, add more orange juice/milk/water.

Video

Notes

  • Make sure to use very cold ingredients. Do not take out the ingredients (butter, milk) from the fridge unless you are ready to use it.
  • Do not leave the scones at room temperature while pre-heating the oven. Take it out from the fridge only when you are ready to bake it.
  • Do not over mix it. Knead it just enough to form it. Over mixing it will make it tough and you will not get a flaky texture.
  • Orange zest can be replaced by lemon zest, or if you do not want any citrus flavoring, you can totally omit it.
  • You can freeze the dough for 2-3 months. No need to leave in room temperature, bake directly from the fridge. Expect a difference in texture as freezing makes the dough a little bit dense.