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Dessert

Cranberry Scones

Cranberry scones are baked pastries made with flour, sugar, orange peel, baking powder, baking soda, margarine, cranberries, currants, buttermilk, and vanilla.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 12 ingredients
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Why it works: Orange and vanilla are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,371 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓

Cranberry Scones

Oven400°F
Time10 to 15 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Make the dough

  1. Using a fork, in a large bowl combine flour, sugar, orange peel, baking powder, and baking soda.

  2. With a pastry blender, cut in margarine until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

  3. Add cranberries and currants; stir to combine.

  4. Add buttermilk and vanilla to flour mixture and stir to combine (mixture will be dry).

  5. Form dough into 2 equal balls.

Shape and bake

  1. Preheat oven to 400°F.

  2. Sprinkle clean work surface with 1 tablespoon reserved flour.

  3. On floured surface, using fingertips, work one-half of dough into 6-inch circle, about ½-inch thick.

  4. Cut circle into 6 equal wedges; place wedges on nonstick baking sheet, leaving a space of about 1 inch between each.

  5. Repeat procedure, using remaining flour and dough.

  6. Bake until lightly browned, about 10 to 15 minutes.

  7. Remove scones to wire rack and let cool.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

891Calories
23 gProtein
21 gFat
151 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 7 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Milk1 cup (244ml) whole149
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Orange1 medium (131g)62
Grape1/2 cup (76g)62
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Vanilla1 tsp extract (4ml)12

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Orange + vanillatop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,371 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

  2. Flour + buttermilktop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,721 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  3. Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together35,032 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

  4. Sugar + buttermilktop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together2,973 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  5. Flour + vanillatop 12% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together19,241 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

Sugar and vanilla barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 35,032 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Flour
Provides the structure that holds the scones together as they bake.
Margarine
Cut into the flour to create tender layers and a crumbly texture.
Buttermilk
Moistens the dough and reacts with leavening to help the scones rise.
Baking powder
Releases gas in the oven, helping the scones rise and become light.
Baking soda
Reacts with the acidic buttermilk to add lift and encourage browning.
Cranberries
Add tartness and chewy pockets of fruit flavour throughout the scones.

The step that matters

Handling the dough. The dough is meant to be dry and only lightly worked. Overmixing or kneading develops gluten and makes the scones tough, so stir just until combined and shape gently with fingertips.

Swap the currant

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (flour, sugar, orange, buttermilk, vanilla):

  1. Blueberryfits better
  2. Raisinfits better
  3. Figfits better
  4. Currantthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against flour, sugar, orange, buttermilk, vanilla. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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