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Topped with a sweet orange glaze, Orange Scones are sweet, tangy, and tender. They are the best breakfast or afternoon snack with a cup of tea.
I am so over winter right now. And let me tell you, it’s not helping matters that it’s supposed to be 4°F here on Sunday.
Every single winter I ask myself why we continue to live in the Midwest. Sure, changing seasons are great, but I could really do without the freezing cold temps after Christmas.
I mean, it snowed here in early May last year and I think we went over 20 days without sunshine.
Since the weather is less than amazing, I thought I’d brighten your day and mine with these sweet and tangy orange scones.
They’re simple to make and absolutely delicious for breakfast with a cup of tea.
MY FAVORITE ORANGE SCONE RECIPE
The very first scone I ever ate was a glazed orange scone from Panera. I’ve been smitten with scones ever since then.
In my opinion, they’re the perfect balance between biscuits and cake – I mean is it possible to go wrong with that textural combination? I think not.
I’ve made a number of scones over the years, including Cranberry Orange Scones, Glazed Vanilla Bean Scones, and Lemon Raspberry Scones.
But it was high time I came back to the scone flavor that started it all for me: Orange Scones.
These scones have just the right amount of sweetness from the glaze, orange flavor from orange zest in the scones and orange juice in the glaze, and tang from a secret ingredient.
MAKING SCONES WITH SOUR CREAM
If you’ve ever found yourself trying to figure out how to make buttermilk after forgetting to pick some up at the store, you might have used sour cream in your baked goods before.
Instead of cream or buttermilk, these scones use sour cream mixed with an egg as the wet ingredients.
The sour cream keeps the scones moist and adds just the right amount of tang to them. The tanginess is perfect for balancing the sweetness from the sugar and the orange in the scones.
HOW TO MAKE ORANGE SCONES
To make these Orange Scones, you’ll need:
- 1/3 cup sugar
- zest of two medium oranges
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, frozen
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1 egg
Just like when making my Cranberry Orange Bundt Cake, start by rubbing the orange zest and sugar together with your fingertips. This will release the oils in the zest and make the scones extra flavorful.
Whisk in the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
Grate the frozen butter into the flour mixture and then use your fingertips to work the butter into the dry ingredients. You want the mixture to resemble a coarse meal.
Whisk together the egg and sour cream and use a fork to stir this mixture into the dry ingredients until large dough clumps form. You’ll need to use your hands to form the dough into a ball; it’ll seem sticky at first, but it will come together.
Use your hands to pat the dough into a circle on a lightly floured surface and cut it into 8 triangles.
After baking and cooling the scones, whisk together the glaze ingredients. You can either dip the scones into the glaze or spoon the glaze on top of the scones.
Want to be really extra? Let the glaze dry and then give them a second coat! I love a double-glazed scone.
Now all I need is a coffee with some cinnamon dolce syrup and I can have my Panera scone and my Starbucks coffee all from the comfort of home.
Orange Scones
Equipment
Ingredients
For the Scones
- ⅓ cup sugar
- zest of two medium oranges
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter frozen
- ½ cup sour cream
- 1 large egg
For the Glaze
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
- 1 cup confectioners’ sugar sifted
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and preheat oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, combine sugar and orange zest; mix with your fingertips until the sugar is moistened and fragrant. Add in the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt and mix until combined.
- Grate butter into flour mixture on the large holes of a box grater; use your fingers to work in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse meal.
- In a small bowl, whisk the sour cream and egg until smooth.
- Using a fork, stir sour cream mixture into flour mixture until large dough clumps form. Use your hands to press the dough against the bowl into a ball. The dough will be sticky first, but as you press, the dough will come together.
- Place on a lightly floured surface and pat into a 7-inch circle about 3/4-inch thick. Use a sharp knife to cut into 8 triangles; place on prepared baking sheet, about 1 inch apart. Bake until golden, about 15 to 17 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes and prepare the glaze.
- In a medium bowl, prepare the glaze by mixing together the melted butter, confectioners’ sugar, vanilla and orange juice. Whisk until smooth. Dip the top of the scones into the glaze and allow the glaze to harden.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I made these three times this week. Once with cranberries, which was also good, but of course weighs things down a bit. The second & third time I also switched about a teaspoon of orange juice with lemon juice in the glaze, for a bit more tartness. They’re my new favorite thing, and everyone I shared them with said they were the best scone they’ve ever had. That might not be high praise in the middle of Ohio, but it made me feel great nonetheless. Thank you for the wonderful recipe!
I’m so glad to hear that! You’re very welcome.
These look great! Do they freeze well once they’ve been glazed?
Hi, Leah! I’ve never really tried it, but I think you could freeze them after glazing just fine. I would suggest waiting for the glaze to dry before freezing, though. I hope this helps!
Your story is exactly how my scone addiction began. 12 yrs ago I was in Monroeville Pennsylvania & seen this place called Panera Breads & went in to check it out since I had some time to kill. I seen these scones, never heard of them & had no idea what a scone was. But they had orange scones & orange being my favorite flavor I bought 1. I took about 3 bites before going straight back in & buying a dozen to take home. I live in the sticks, Monroeville is close to an hour from me & this was way before Panera became popular & added more locations. Every week I’d make the trip for my orange scones. So just like you, Panera started my love of scones-especially orange! Thank you soooooo much for this recipe, you just made my day! I started baking about 2 yrs ago after I got sick, it helps take my mind off it & gives me something to do when I’m too weak to leave the house. Since getting sick, I’m not able to do much it makes me feel useless. When I bake it takes my mind off all that & the problems that developed because of it ¬ being able to work anymore. I’m only 33, retirement wasn’t an option when I got sick, & i have no family so I’m alone in this with no help. It gets me down. So once again, thank you for this recipe!
Nicole, you are so welcome! I’m so sorry you’ve been sick…it’s amazing how baking can really brighten a day! All the best to you now and during the holiday season! xxoo
Jamie, what would work best as a sour cream substitute in this recipe? Thank you!
Hi, Marianne! My best suggestion would be plain yogurt. Let me know how you like them!
Just made these today…..they are perfect! I doubled dipped in the glaze as well. So yummy! Thank you for a great recipe!
I’m so glad you liked them, Jenna!
oh my gosh I didn’t even realize that it said SOUR cream and not cream cheese! ok so I made these and they were the most delicious scones I’ve ever had and made! obviously they were smaller than the panera scones but they were equally delicious! they were soft three days after making them and I didn’t even need to put the glaze on them they were so flavorful! they were perfect and I had tweaked the recipe without even realizing it! I totally recommend trying it with cream cheese, same amount, same everything. thank you SO SO SO much for this recipe it’s divine! I’m currently making my second and third batch today and will try not to eat them all right after they come out of the oven! ;)
That’s so great, Bella!
did u let the cream cheese come to room temp?
Hi, Bella! There’s no cream cheese in the scones recipe. Were you asking about another recipe? Let me know! Take care!
Just made these and really thinking I may have to make another batch ,8 will not be enough !! they are just that good !!!!
I’m so glad, Angel! Thank you!
Currently making them for the second time this week. Absolutely delicious!!! So easy to make and devoured by everyone….thank you!
So happy to hear you enjoyed them, Julie! Thanks so much for taking the time to come back and leave your feedback!
-Jamie
My husband loves scones; he adored these!!Absolutely delicious…I added just a bit of contreau to the glaze…otherwise I followed the directions exactly. Thank you so much for a “Keeper”.
Susan-
I am so happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe. Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by and leave your feedback.
-Jamie