Skip to Content

Orange Scones

Sharing is caring!

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.

Three glazed orange scones on a white plate next to a ramekin of orange marmalade

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.

Ingredients for orange scones on a blue countertop

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.

Whisk mixing together the dry ingredients for orange scones in a glass mixing bowl

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.

Grated butter added to dry ingredients for scones in a glass mixing bowl

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. 

Wet ingredients being added to the dry ingredients for orange scones in a glass mixing bowl

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
Orange scone dough shaped into a circle and cut into 8 triangles on a piece of parchment paper

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. 

Unbaked orange scones arranged on a parchment-lined baking sheet

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. 

Baked and glazed orange scones arranged on a cooling rack

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 scone with a bite taken out of it stacked on top of two other scones on a white plate
Close up of three orange scones arranged on a white plate

Orange Scones

Yield: 8 scones
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 17 minutes
Total Time: 32 minutes

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.

Ingredients

For the Scones

  • 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 large egg

For the Glaze

  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
  • 1 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted
  • 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice

Instructions

  1. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. In a small bowl, whisk the sour cream and egg until smooth.
  5. 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.
  6. 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.
  7. 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

Scones store well in an airtight container for up to two days.

Adapted from Pam Anderson via All Recipes.

Recommended Products

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Nutrition Information
Yield 8 Serving Size 1 scone
Amount Per Serving Calories 396Total Fat 20gSaturated Fat 12gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 6gCholesterol 74mgSodium 249mgCarbohydrates 52gFiber 2gSugar 26gProtein 5g

Did you make this recipe?

Tag me on social! I want to see what you made! @jamiemba

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Janyak

Thursday 20th of July 2023

These take more time than expected but are WELL WORTH the effort . I'm making some along with a pasta salad to give to sick friends but my husband doesn't want to give them away!!

Jamie

Wednesday 2nd of August 2023

I love hearing this! Thanks so much for stopping by and sharing your feedback. Happy baking! Jamie

Average Jane

Sunday 25th of June 2023

This has become not only my favorite scone recipe of all time, but a huge favorite of all my friends. I just made two batches for a brunch I'm throwing because although I *could* have made these scones and something else, I know everyone will just want these!

Jamie

Monday 26th of June 2023

I love that! Thank you so much for stopping by and sharing your feedback. Happy baking! Jamie

Cat

Sunday 26th of February 2023

Amazing!! Followed your recipe to the t. And thank you so much for taking the time to share this recipe. I can’t try to others too.

Jamie

Thursday 2nd of March 2023

So glad you enjoyed, Cat! Thanks so much for sharing. Happy baking! Jamie

Tammy

Sunday 17th of July 2022

Hello, I am looking forward to making these delicious orange scones. Could I substitute the sour cream with plain yogurt? Thank you for a great recipe! Tammy B.

Jamie

Monday 18th of July 2022

Hi Tammy – Yes, that should work. You might want to use plain greek yogurt, since it is a bit closer to the thickness of sour cream. Hope this helps! Happy baking. -Jamie

Stephanie N

Saturday 11th of June 2022

These turned out wonderful, and so easy! I did not end up freezing the butter, grated and used a wisk to cut the butter in to the flour mixture, turned out fine! Thanks so much for this recipe, im hooked now.

Jamie

Tuesday 14th of June 2022

So glad you enjoyed the scones, Stephanie! Thanks so much for stopping by and sharing your feedback! Happy baking – -Jamie

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Skip to Recipe