Cranberry Orange Scones (Gluten Free & Vegan!)

These cranberry orange scones are incredibly delicious! The cranberries are tart and bursting with flavor, and the walnuts and orange zest complement the cranberries perfectly. The pastry is crunchy and flaky on the outside and tender in the middle, just the way a scone should be!

They would be worth making even if this were a difficult recipe, but is’s not hard at all! There are a lot of photos showing how to shape the dough, but the entire shaping process is very easy and only takes two minutes.

Here are the ingredients you will need to make these awesome scones:

You can use fresh or frozen cranberries. If you use frozen, allow your cranberries to partially defrost before cutting them into smaller pieces. I cut the largest berries in quarters, the medium ones in thirds, and the small ones in half. Spread your cut berries out on a plate and put them in the freezer for now. Put your chopped walnuts in the freezer too. (It is essential to keep all of the ingredients really cold if you want flaky pastry.)

Add the yogurt, vinegar, sugar, and extracts to a small mixing bowl. Whisk to combine, then put the bowl in the freezer.

Add the biscuit mix to a medium-sized mixing bowl. Cut your stick of vegan butter into small pieces and add them to the biscuit mix. (I use Country Crock plant butter sticks.) Gently toss the butter pieces in the mix to coat them with flour:

Use a sturdy fork or a pastry cutter to cut the butter into the biscuit mix. You should still have lots of pea-sized bits of butter visible in the mix. Put this bowl in the freezer too, then set a timer for 15 minutes.

When your timer goes off, get both the flour/butter mixture and the liquid mixture out of the freezer. Make a well in the flour, then scrape all of the liquid mixture into the well:

Use a sturdy fork or spatula to gently fold and mix the ingredients together. Put the bowl back into the freezer for another 15 minutes. This is to make sure that those little pieces of butter stay firm for now.

Line a baking sheet with parchment, then add a piece of waxed paper on top of the parchment. Scrape your dough onto the waxed paper:

Press the dough out into a rectangle on the waxed paper. Get your cranberries and walnuts out of the freezer. Sprinkle them on top of the dough:

Now you want to create layers of butter within the dough so you get a lovely, flakey pastry. To accomplish that, you are going to do a series of dough folds using the waxed paper to lift and fold the dough. You will do two letter folds and then fold the final rectangle in half. (It is called a letter fold because you fold the dough in thirds like you would fold a letter to fit it into an envelope.)

Use the waxed paper to lift one end of the dough and fold one third of the length over the middle third:

Peel the waxed paper back off the dough so it’s laying flat on the pan again. Then use the waxed paper to lift the other end and fold it over the middle third:

Peel the waxed paper back off the dough so it’s laying flat on the pan again. The dough is still looking a bit rough, but will smooth out as you continue with the folds.

Pick up all the loose cranberries and walnuts and place them on the top of the dough. Get another piece of waxed paper and lay it over the dough. Press the cranberries and walnuts into the dough. Your dough is now sandwiched between two pieces of waxed paper.

Slide one hand under the bottom piece of waxed paper and place your other hand on top. Flip the dough over and turn it so the long side matches the long side of the pan. Peel off the top piece of waxed paper. Again, pick up any loose cranberries and walnuts and put them on top of the dough:

Cover the dough with the second piece of waxed paper again, then press the dough out into a rectangle:

Remove the top piece of waxed paper and do a second letter fold:

Now, fold the rectangle in half to make a square:

Press the dough out into an 8.5″ circle:

Put the pan into the freezer for 30 minutes for one final chilling time. Preheat your oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit while your dough is in the freezer.

Remove the pan from the freezer, then slide the dough on the waxed paper off of the parchment-lined pan. Use a sharp knife to cut the dough circle into 8 equal wedges

Slide the edge of your knife under a wedge and lift it up and transfer the wedge to your parchment-lined pan. Repeat with the remaining wedges:

Sprinkle the wedges with a course sugar if desired:

Put the pan in your oven on the middle rack, then immediately reduce your oven temperature to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Bake your scones for 29 to 31 minutes until they are nicely browned. Use a spatula to transfer your baked scones to a rack to cool:

Your scones will be delicious just the way they are, but you can add a drizzle of orange icing if you want to take them up another notch. Let them cool for 10 to 15 minutes before glazing, though, so the icing doesn’t melt. Also, put your rack into your pan on top of the parchment paper before adding the glaze. This makes clean-up much easier as the paper catches the icing drips.

Scones are best eaten while still warm, so serve and enjoy!