Cranberry + orange: a dynamic duo! This duo has made delicious muffins, crisp, and cranberry sauce, and now a new cranberry + orange favorite joins the Minimalist Baker family: scones!
These EASY, 1-bowl scones are fluffy, citrusy, lightly sweetened, generously studded with fresh cranberries, and undetectably vegan + gluten-free. Perfect for holiday breakfasts, brunches, and beyond! Let us show you how it’s done!
These fluffy, tender, gluten-free scones get their perfect texture from a mix of almond flour, oat flour, and potato starch. We discovered this magical combination (after many rounds of testing) when creating our Gluten-Free Blueberry Scones.
These scones are perfectly flaky thanks to cutting cold (vegan) butter into the dry ingredients.
Orange juice + zest ensures bright, citrusy flavor throughout. Baking powder helps them rise, salt adds flavor, and flaxseed meal prevents them from being too crumbly.
The final ingredient is cranberries! Fresh (or frozen) cranberries are full of tartness and flavor that’s perfectly balanced by the sweet, citrusy dough.
We think you’re going to LOVE these cranberry orange scones! They’re:
Fluffy
Zesty
Tart
Lightly sweet
Easy to make
& Kind of perfect!
Enjoy with coffee or tea on a lazy weekend morning, for holiday brunch when serving a crowd, and beyond! They also make a great afternoon snack or fall dessert and can be frozen unbaked to quickly bake up when scone cravings arise.
More Homemade Scones
- Blueberry Gluten-Free Scones
- Easy Peach Scones (Gluten-Free, Vegan)
- Pumpkin Scones with Maple and Molasses Glaze
- Coconut Oil Blueberry Scones with Rosemary
If you try this recipe, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it, and don’t forget to tag a photo @minimalistbaker on Instagram. Cheers, friends!
1-Bowl Cranberry Orange Scones (Vegan + GF)
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cup almond flour* (we like Wellbee’s)
- 1/2 cup oat flour*
- 1/2 cup potato starch*
- 3 Tbsp cane sugar
- 1 ½ Tbsp orange zest (1 ½ or 2 large oranges yield ~1 ½ Tbsp // 4 ½ tsp zest)
- 2 ½ tsp baking powder
- 1 ½ tsp flaxseed meal (ground flax seeds)
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 1/4 cup cold vegan butter* (we like Miyoko’s // dairy butter would also work if not vegan // or coconut oil that’s scoopable — not liquid or frozen*)
- 1/4 cup orange juice (1 ½ large oranges yield ~1/4 cup or 60 ml juice)
- 1/2 cup fresh or frozen whole cranberries
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F (176 C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
- To a large mixing bowl, add almond flour, oat flour, potato starch, cane sugar, orange zest, baking powder, flaxseed meal, and sea salt. Whisk together until fully incorporated.
- Use a pastry cutter, fork, or clean hands to cut the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles wet sand with some pea-sized pieces of butter remaining.
- Add the orange juice a little at a time while stirring with a wooden spoon. The dough should not be crumbly, and it should also not stick to your fingers. If too dry, keep mixing or add 1 tsp more orange juice at a time (up to 1 Tbsp more). Then add your cranberries and gently stir to distribute.
- Turn the dough out onto the prepared baking sheet and use your hands to form it into a disc about 3/4 to 1 inch in height. Use a knife to cut the circle into 6 even wedges. Then use a floured spatula to arrange the scones about 2 inches apart on the baking sheet. Sprinkle the tops with a bit more cane sugar for a sparkly finish and extra sweetness (optional)!
- Bake for 18-20 minutes or until fluffy and light golden brown on the edges. Let cool slightly before enjoying. These are delicious plain or spread with a little vegan butter.
- NOTE: Best within the first 24-36 hours after baking. The texture tends to become dried out after that. Once completely cooled, store leftovers at room temperature in a well-sealed container for up to 3 days, or in the freezer for up to 1 month. You can also freeze the cut out scones and bake from frozen, adding 3-5 extra minutes to the bake time as needed.
Video
Notes
*The combination of almond flour, oat flour, and potato starch gives these scones a classic scone flavor and fluffiness. You could try replacing the oat flour + potato starch with slightly less of a 1:1 gluten-free flour blend, but odds are they won’t be quite as fluffy!
*If using coconut oil, make sure it’s scoopable (the state it’s typically in when you buy it at the store), not liquid. If it’s too liquidy and pourable, this will negatively affect the scones. To fix, set your jar of coconut oil in the refrigerator to firm up for 30 minutes, then stir and let rest another 30 minutes at room temperature. The oil should be consistently solid, not partially solid and partially liquid. Repeat this process (of chilling, stirring, resting) until the right texture is achieved. This is key to ensuring the scones’ texture is just right and the dough is easy to work with. (For best and most consistent results, be sure to store your coconut oil in a cool, dark place to keep it at the right texture/consistency.)
*Nutrition information is a rough estimate.
Sandra says
These have such a nice flavor! The outside was crisp and they looked wonderful. BUT… they were a bit dry and not “fluffy”. I used about half of a large egg and lessened the orange juice to account for the extra liquid. The dough was not crumbly and it wasn’t sticky. I baked them for 18 minutes.
I froze half of them to bake later. Do you think baking them less will yield a better texture or do you think there was something else that led to the dryness? They aren’t crumbly – just a bit dry. I’m anxious to try them again.
Thanks for making me feel like a baker!
Thank you for sharing your experience, Sandra! Hmm, it’s probably the egg that’s making the scones dry. Perhaps use the full amount of orange juice to bump up the moisture and/or bake for less time. Let us know if you try it again!
Michele says
What is a good substitution for potato starch? Would tapioca starch work? Or arrowroot powder?
Hey Michele! Potato starch gives the scones a light, fluffy texture that other starches won’t be able to mimic. However, your next best choice would be cornstarch. Hope this helps!
Sarah says
Do you think I could substitute corn or arrowroot starch for the potato starch in this recipe? If so, would it be 1 to 1? Thank you!
Hey Sarah! Potato starch helps dry out the dough and gives the scones their lightness. If you try subbing cornstarch let us know how it goes. It should be a 1:1 swap. Hope this helps!
Kim says
My problem with this recipe is it’s TOO delicious! I am not a big “sweets” person and I ate two and a half scones before they were even cool yet. Wow! So, so good. I made these with my kids, and they would rather lick a city trashcan than eat a single cranberry, so I made their side plain orange (and stuffed the cranberries into my side). They LOVED them just like that, although of course the cranberries add that bit of juicy pop that’s so delicious. I’ll try this recipe again with different combos of citrus and berries! I followed the recipe exactly, and I used Baker’s Corner almond flour from Aldi and it worked great! Thanks for another winner!
Oh my goodness, Kim! We are THRILLED that you and your kids enjoyed these (and great idea with that creative modification to suit all palettes)! And you gave us a good laugh with the “rather lick a city trashcan” part. Thank you for this amazing review! xoxo
Bee Bentall says
Couldn’t resist cracking into one straight out the oven! Mmm, festive! Would go great with some crumbly white cheese, goat cheese, or sweet jam.
If I made them again I’d cut down the salt to just a pinch, hence only giving 4 stars. (I think it’s quite American to add quite a bit of salt to sweet recipes and that’s not to my (British) taste.)
Would also consider making these with white chocolate chips for a bit of fun.
Thank you for sharing, Bee! We’re glad you enjoyed them overall!
Bee Bentall says
On further tasting, these are super crumbly. Not suitable for cutting in half horizontally and loading up. Was my almond flour was too coarse? Wonder if anyone has tried adding xanthan gum to them to give them more hold?
Hi Bee, possibly? It’s hard to know without seeing the texture ourselves! Typically crumbling means it’s too dry. Is it possible the scones got a little overbaked? They will also dry out a little the next day, or if you’re in a particularly dry climate. Another idea – if the flaxseed meal wasn’t finely ground, perhaps it’s not holding them together as well? Xanthan gum could help, but we think baking for a little less time could do the trick!
Eva says
If I were to add some fresh ginger root to this recipe, how much would you suggest? Would that be OK with the flavor profile? Thanks!
Hmm, we’re not sure fresh ginger would work well here, but maybe dried! Maybe 1/4-1/2 tsp?
Leona says
Thank you MB for another delicious recipe. I did not have flax seeds, so I used a chicken egg and and added a couple tablespoons of oat flour to compensate the egg. I also substituted the white sugar with coconut sugar. They turned out fluffy and delicious!!
I will make this again!
Yay! Thank you for another amazing review, Leona! We’re so glad the scones turned out well with those modifications and we appreciate you sharing your experience! xo
Ljuba Lemke says
DELICIOUS❣️ I didn’t have flaxseeds and used chia seeds instead.
We’re so glad you enjoyed the scones, Ljuba! Thank you for the lovely review and for sharing your modification! xo
Sheila says
I just made these as directed by the recipe. They are perfection! A nice crisp exterior and soft interior. The orange comes through and fresh cranberries give a clean sweet bite. I did add a little sugar on top before putting in the oven (18 minutes in my oven), which I think contributed to the crispy exterior. The combination of gf flours really makes a difference, the sweetness offered in the oat flour is perfect for scones. For ease and time, I generally use Bob’s RM gf 1-1 in my baking. With this combination of gf flours, you’d never know they’re gf if you didn’t mention it. Next time I’m going to swap out the orange and cranberry for lemon and blueberry. Thanks for this recipe, another winner!! 🙏🏻
We’re so happy you enjoy the scones, Sheila! Thank you for this wonderful review! xoxo
Dani Salvado says
I accidentally bought dried cranberries 🤦🏽♀️ Will it work?
Hi Dani, we think it would work okay, but the fresh/frozen cranberries do add a big pop of flavor here so it’s worth getting them if it’s not too much trouble!
Janet says
Would it work if I used regular egg & dairy milk instead of flax egg & non dairy milk to make the GF scones? Thank you for your recipes & help
Hi Janet, this recipe doesn’t contain non-dairy milk – though our other scone recipes do! Instead, the liquid is orange juice, which gives these more orange flavor. Egg should work and make the scones especially fluffy, though it may make the batter more wet, unless you reduce the amount of orange juice slightly. Hope that helps!
Esther says
Sorry but your Cranberry Orange scones are not gluten free!! Very disappointed!
Hi Esther, are you referring to the oat flour? You can purchase certified gluten-free oat flour, however, we are aware that in some countries, this isn’t available. Another option would be to try sorghum flour. Hope that helps!
Dana Norvell-Sanchez says
What’s a good substitute for the oat flour?
Hi Dana, we think sorghum flour would work well, though it can be a bit crumbly. Another option would be homemade buckwheat flour, but it might make the scones have a bit of a nutty flavor. Let us know how it goes!
ACP says
Hi! If not GF can you use regular flour?
Yes, though the amount will be different since almond flour is less absorbent than all-purpose flour. You can reference this recipe! Let us know if you try it!
Anne Thomas says
Can I make these with wheat flour instead of almond, oat, and potato flour? Thank you.
Yes, though the amount will be different since almond flour is less absorbent than all-purpose flour. You can reference this recipe! Let us know if you try it!
The Vegan Goddess says
What role does the white sugar play?
Will coconut sugar work or will that affect the lighter color and/or texture?
At least it’s a minimal amount, not cup size.
Hi! The cane sugar does help with structure and neutral flavor, but we think coconut sugar would be okay as long as you don’t mind a slightly darker color and slightly denser texture. Let us know if you try it out!