Plucked from the store window of your local bakery, these Lemon Cranberry Scones are soft and fluffy inside with a crunchy sugar topping.
When I was growing up, there was a little mom and pop bakery in my hometown that my mom and I frequented religiously every weekend. Despite being smaller in size than my living room, it was a mainstay in our lives with some of the best home-baked creations my 12-year-old self could imagine.
From moist, chocolatey banana bread to sweet cupcakes piled with frosting, that bakery had it all. It was always full of little old ladies sipping tea and buttering scones. With this recipe, that’s what I wanted to emulate. A delicate, sweet treat that you’d find simultaneously in an old-fashioned bakery and one of those hip, new-agey ones. (I’m not hating on the new bakeries, trust me. Those places give you chocolatines the size of your face.)
What makes these lemon cranberry scones so scrumptious? First, the subtle lemon fragrance that permeates the dough spruces up a simple scone, while the whole, tart cranberries provide a burst of flavour and colour. Second—and my favourite part—a cream wash and liberal sprinkling of sugar on top creates that firm, crunchy exterior for which bakeries are known. I have my childhood love of sweet breakfast cereals to thank for my sugar addiction. We all have our faults.
In this recipe, I cut the dough into eighths like a pizza, in a futile attempt to limit my portions of what can become a scone-eating fest. If you want your scones larger, cut the dough circles into sixths and bake for a few extra minutes, until the scones are lightly browned and baked through.
Serve with a good old-fashioned cuppa, or whatever else you find comforting on a cold winter’s day.
Check out CK on Instagram! If you try out one of my recipes, tag @CrumbKitchen so I can see your delicious creations. 🙂
Total Cost = $5.34 (Budget breakdown below recipe)
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tbsp. baking powder
- 1 tbsp. finely grated lemon peel
- ¾ tsp. salt
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ¾ cup chilled salted butter, cut into cubes
- 2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
- 1 cup frozen cranberries
- ¾ to 1 cup chilled half and half, plus extra for glaze
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- Place oven rack in top third of oven; preheat to 375 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
- Mix flour, baking powder, lemon peel, salt, and 1 cup sugar in large bowl. Add chilled cubed butter and rub into coarse meal with fingertips. Add frozen cranberries, lemon juice, and ¾ cup half and half, adding more until a cohesive but not wet dough forms.
- Pat dough into a ball and divide in half. Flatten each half into a circle that's 1 inch high. Cut first circle into 8 wedges like a pizza and transfer to prepared baking sheet.
- Brush tops of wedges with half and half, then sprinkle liberally with sugar. Keep second batch cut into wedges on a baking sheet in the fridge until 5 minutes before baking, then brush with glaze and sugar.
- Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes or until golden brown.
Recipe adapted from Epicurious.
Budget Breakdown
3 cups all-purpose flour = $0.36
1 tbsp. baking powder = $0.15
1 tbsp. finely grated lemon peel = $0.50
3/4 tsp. salt = $0.01
1 cup granulated sugar = $0.18
3/4 cup chilled salted butter = $0.60
2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice = $0.50
1 cup frozen cranberries = $1.00
3/4 to 1 cup chilled half and half = $2.00
1/4 cup granulated sugar = $0.04
Can I use dried cranberries instead of frozen?
Hi Sandra! You can, but it won’t have the same bakery-fresh taste as with the larger frozen cranberries. If you’re not a big cranberry fan, dried would be fine to substitute.
Hi can you use fresh cranberries?
Sorry for the late response but yes, that should work!