Orange Cream Scones

These homemade Orange Cream Scones are one of my favorite summer recipes! These flaky and tender cream scones are packed with fresh orange flavor and topped with a sweet homemade orange glaze, making them a perfect breakfast, brunch, or dessert for the summer season. 

These easy fresh orange scones come together quickly! If you don’t know how to make scones, this super simple orange cream scone recipe is a perfect place to start!

As a self-proclaimed lover of all things lemon, I have to admit that I *might* love oranges more than I love lemons. 

And that might also include orange desserts (or baked goods). 

I mean, you know how I feel about lemon desserts and lemon baked goods (cue these Lemon Bars and these Lemon Donuts), but guys…

Have you ever tried one of those amazing cake donuts with an orange glaze on top? 

Or a tender berry cake with creamy orange frosting??

Or a flaky orange scone with an orange glaze (that is pretty much a copycat of a donut shop’s orange glaze)???

While lemon is amazing in it’s tangy flavor, it’s the bright, sweet orange flavor that is the unsung hero of citrus fruits. 

(In my humblest of opinions. 😉) But also, make these Lemon Blueberry Scones stat.

Now that I’ve sufficiently told you why orange rules all, let’s talk about why these orange scones in particular rule all. 

• they’re ultra tender and flaky (because this recipe uses both sour cream and heavy cream to ensure these scones have the best texture)
• they’re moist–not a dry crumb in sight (no one wants to be choking on a dusty, dry baked good)
• this recipe uses fresh orange juice and zest so you get the sweet, natural flavor of orange rather than the superficial taste of an orange extract
• best of all–you probably have most of the ingredients right in your pantry

Orange Scone Ingredients:

• all purpose flour
• granulated sugar
• baking powder and salt
• orange zest
• butter, cold and cubed (a must for flaky scones!)
• egg
• sour cream
• heavy whipping cream
• vanilla extract 

Orange Glaze Ingredients:

• butter, melted 
• powdered sugar
• orange zest and orange juice
• vanilla extract

Making scones from scratch used to intimidate me, but I have found that homemade scones are actually very simple to make. 

While there are a few steps to follow, it is hard to completely ruin this scone recipe. If this is your first time, this easy orange scone recipe was definitely the right recipe to choose. 😉

How To Make Scones:

• Making homemade cream scones takes only a few ingredients and just a little bit of prep time.
• You can use a bowl and pastry cutter to mix the easy scone dough together, but I like to use my standing mixer (I saw Ina Garten do it once, and if it’s good enough for Ina Garten’s scone recipes, it’s good enough for me 😜).
• To me, if you want the best scone recipe ever, be sure you do not over mix the dough. Once the dough just comes together, turn it out onto a floured surface.
• Once it’s on the floured surface, all you need to do is just pat it into a circle (don’t knead the dough…it’ll make it tough!).

Easy Orange Cream Scones Tips & Tricks:

• Use fresh orange juice and zest. There’s nothing like the real deal and orange extract will significantly change the flavor of these scones.
• A lot of orange scone recipes use buttermilk, but this recipe uses a combination of heavy cream and sour cream, which gives it a perfectly tender texture. These is a seriously moist scone recipe!
• This homemade orange glaze has a bit of melted butter in the recipe, which gives the glaze an extra layer of depth. It’s a bit more like a donut glaze recipe than a traditional powdered sugar + liquid glaze (and it’s worth every single extra ingredient).

FAQ’S:

Can I freeze scones?

Yes, you can! You can freeze these scones a couple of ways:

1. You can freeze the dough before baking the scones. Once the dough is made and cut into triangles (or squares or circles–whatever is easiest for you), you can freeze them. I suggest flash freezing them, which means placing the scones on a baking tray with parchment paper and freezing for 40-60 minutes. Then you can transfer them into a ziplock bag or a freezer safe container and keep them in the freezer. (Flash freezing prevents the scones from freezing to one another.)
   • When you want to bake the scones, place them on a baking tray. You can allow them to come to room temperature and bake as directed in the recipe, or you can bake them frozen (adding about 5 minutes extra to the bake time).
   • Before baking, make sure to brush them with heavy cream (this gives them a golden brown color).
2. Or, you can freeze the scones after baking them, glazed or unglazed. After baking, allow the scones to cool to room temperature. Then, flash freeze them (look above for more specific details) for about 40-60 minutes. Move to a freezer safe container or ziplock bag and keep them in the freezer.
   • When ready to eat, you can microwave, reheat in the oven or allow them to come to room temperature. 

Can I use orange extract instead of fresh orange juice/zest?

No, I would not suggest replacing the fresh juice and zest with extract, because orange extract tastes very different from fresh orange flavor. 

What can I do for substitutions?

• If you do not have heavy cream, you can use all sour cream in this recipe (and brush the scones with egg wash instead of heavy cream). 
• Conversely, if you do not have sour cream, you can use all heavy cream in this recipe.

These gorgeous Orange Cream Scones with a Homemade Orange Glaze make the best (and easiest) scone recipe! If you’re an orange lover like me, you are going to flip over these!

4.96 from 48 votes

Orange Cream Scones

Prep: 25 minutes mins

Cook: 15 minutes mins

Total: 40 minutes mins

These homemade Orange Cream Scones are one of my favorite summer recipes! These flaky and tender cream scones are packed with fresh orange flavor and topped with a sweet homemade orange glaze, making them a perfect breakfast, brunch, or dessert for the summer season. 

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Ingredients

 

1x2x3x

Scones

• ▢ 2 cups all-purpose flour
• ▢ 1/3 cup sugar
• ▢ 1 Tbsp baking powder
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon salt
• ▢ 1 Tbsp orange zest, about the zest of 1 large orange
• ▢ 1/2 cup cubed butter, cold
• ▢ 1 large egg
• ▢ 1/4 cup sour cream
• ▢ 1/4 cup heavy cream, plus more for brushing
• ▢ 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Glaze

• ▢ 3 Tbsp butter, melted
• ▢ 1-1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• ▢ 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• ▢ 2 Tbsp freshly squeezed orange juice
• ▢ 1 tsp orange zest (optional--it makes the glaze extra orange-flavored!)

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper (or spray with cooking oil).
• Mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and orange zest. Cut in cold butter with a pastry cutter (or using a standing mixer) and mix the dough until the butter is about the size of peas, and the dough resembles coarse crumbs. Set aside.
• In a small bowl, whisk egg, sour cream, heavy cream, and vanilla extract. Mix with the dry ingredients and stir until just combined.
• Turn the dough out onto a floured surface, and pat into a 1" thick circle. Cut into 8 triangles. Place scones on parchment lined baking tray, making sure the scones are evenly spaced apart.
• Brush the tops of each scone with a little bit of heavy cream, and bake for 15-16 minutes, or until scones are golden brown.
• While the scones are cooling, mix together melted butter, powdered sugar (starting with 1 cup), vanilla extract, orange juice, and orange zest. If the glaze seems too thin, add in the last 1/2 cup of powdered sugar.
• Pour the glaze over the scones and enjoy!

The nutrition facts provided are calculated using a third-party tool and are estimates only. Actual nutritional content may vary based on the ingredients and brands you use, as well as portion sizes. For accurate results, please consult a registered dietitian or nutritionist.

Course Scones

Cuisine American

Make sure to tag me on Instagram and leave a rating below and let me know how it turned out!

Here are some of my other favorite scone recipes:

Blueberry Cream Cheese Scones

Mixed Berry Scones

Raspberry Almond Scones

Originally posted in 2015. Updated 2020.