Fresh Cranberry Almond Scones
If you’ve got fresh cranberries still waiting to be used after the holidays, these scones are the tastiest way to use them up.
First off, my sincerest apologies for the technical glitch that caused my blog to be down right before Thanksgiving. The cause is still not known and I know there were some people who had intended to use some of my recipes over the holiday. I do hope you were able to print them out before the inexplicable outage. I was stuck myself and couldn’t get in so when it miraculously came back online on Saturday morning I was more relieved than I can express.
This post comes two days later than I had originally intended but there’s plenty left of the holiday season to enjoy these season-perfect scones.
If you’re like me, you probably still have a cup or so of fresh cranberries waiting to be used–an amount not quite enough to freeze for the usual holiday recipe and too much to allow them to go to waste.
These scones are the perfect thing to make with those leftover cranberries. The recipe below uses my base recipe for scones but made just a little more indulgent as a nod to the holidays with a touch more sugar and butter but feel free to use the usual proportions I’ve included. The extra sweetness–which is still not very sweet–also helps to balance the mild tartness of the cranberries.
It’s been a wet and windy Sunday here in the Bay Area and I’m fresh out of scones but there may be just enough cranberries in my refrigerator still to whip up another batch and bring on the cozy on this fall day.
Fresh Cranberry Almond Scones
If you've got fresh cranberries still waiting to be used after the holidays, these scones are the tastiest way to use them up.
Ingredients
See Note about Amounts
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting surface
- 4-5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed
- 1/4 – 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3/4 cup cream or half and half, plus 1 tablespoon for brushing the tops
- 1/2-1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2/3 cup fresh cranberries, halved
- 1/2 cup sliced almonds
- turbinado sugar, optional
Instructions
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Preheat your oven to 425ºF. In a large bowl whisk together the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder and salt. Using a pastry blender or your fingers, cut the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse meal.
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Stir in the cranberries and most of the sliced almonds, reserving a small portion to sprinkle on top of the scones. Then stir in the cream or half and half and vanilla extract with a fork until just combined. Do not overwork the dough; it should be crumbly.
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Transfer the dough to a lightly-floured surface and pat the dough into roughly a six-inch disk. Cut into wedges (six large or eight small) and transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Brush the tops with the remaining one tablespoon cream, sprinkle with turbinado sugar (if using) and the remaining sliced almonds.
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Bake for roughly 20 minutes or until they begin to turn golden. Serve warm. They can also be frozen and reheated at 350ºF for a few minutes.
Recipe Notes
Amounts: My usual scone recipes use the smaller amounts in the ranges I’ve provided here but to offset the tartness of the cranberries I’ve used the higher range for the sugar, butter and vanilla extract. Use less sugar is you want the scones less sweet.
Cream/Half-and-Half: Start with 2/3 cup and add more by the tablespoon if your mixture is too dry. 3/4 cup will look a little wet but it’s what I used here and they were great. You shouldn’t have any trouble managing the dough but if you do, form it into a disk and refrigerate it before slicing and baking will help.
These are so beautiful, and your photos are stunning. I’m not a huge scone fan, honestly, and I’ve even tried them in England. I need about 4 ounces of butter and the clotted cream to get them down. But these would be wonderful for Christmas company, so thank you!
Thank you, Mimi! And I understand. I do happen to like scones but I will admit that I might enjoy baking them even more. 🙂
What a great idea! And I’ve gor some leftover cranberries!
Thank you! Just a handful of cranberries is all you need to give the scones new appeal 🙂
I like the size of these. They’re not gargantuan since enormous scones have a tendency to be dense and doughy. At least when I make them… GREG