White Chocolate Cranberry Scones

Decadent White Chocolate Cranberry Scones with cherry yogurt baked right in. They’re moist and flaky with white chocolate and dried cranberry to add a delicious sweet texture.

These scones are a great for Mother’s Day brunch recipe. Plus you’ll learn a way to make scones with less fat, while still being moist and flaky.

Cranberry Scones Recipe

These White Chocolate Cranberry Scones are not trying to hide anything. They are good old-fashioned baked sweets, and remind me of cooking from an era where home-baked goods were a regular thing.

A dense and chewy dough is the base of these delicious scones. Add some white chocolate chips and dried cranberries for a unique and beloved flavor pairing. Cherry yogurt adds a subtle hint of cherry flavor. Finish with a sprinkling of large sugar granules for a subtle crunch to the soft scones.

Ingredients for Making White Chocolate Cranberry Scones

All-purpose flour – plus extra for kneading
Granulated sugar – plus extra for garnish
Baking powder & baking soda – to help them rise and create a light texture
Butter – must be cold
Dried cranberries & white chocolate chips – for a sweet and delicious flavor and texture
Eggs – lightly beaten
Yogurt, cherry or plain – helps create moist scones with delicious flavor
Milk – for brushing

Scone vs. biscuit – What’s the difference?

Scones and biscuits are very similar and there is often some confusion about them being the same but they’re not. Here are some differences between them:

• Scones generally contain more sugar than biscuits making them much sweeter
• Scones have a denser texture whereas biscuit are much lighter and fluffier
• Scones contain eggs and as a rule biscuits do not
• Scones are served with jam or fruit preserves and cream as a treat or dessert whereas biscuits are served with savory meals usually with gravy

How to cut pastry dough

You should always use cold butter when making scones. It’s a really important step for the perfect scone texture, otherwise they will melt and deform in the oven and likely dry out too.

It’s a good idea to cut the butter into the flour using a pastry cutter. This way you can avoid the heat from your hands melting the butter.

To do this, cut the butter (almost like chopping the butter and flour together) until the butter is in very fine pieces and incorporated into the flour.

Pro tip: If the room temperature is warm (during summer) you can freeze the butter for 5-10 minutes to make sure it’s extra cold before cutting.

The kneading process

Your dough at first will seem very crumbly and loose, but will come together easily. The thing to remember is to not over-knead the dough or it will toughen the scones.

Bring the dough together by folding and pressing until smooth (it shouldn’t need much work). You can add a little more flour as you go to help with the kneading process and prevent stricken. Then simply pat into a round circle and cut into triangles.

How to make moist scones 

A healthier ingredient for moist scone is yogurt. Recipes can include this in addition to butter. Cherry yogurt helps with the chemistry and flavor for these baked scones.

Similar to butter, it keeps baked goods moist. I opted to use some butter in this recipe to keep them extra moist and flaky. However, I was still able to reduce it by over half a stick with this substitution.

How to make scones

1. In a large bowl stir together flour, sugar, baking power, and baking soda. Add butter pieces and cut in with a pastry cutter until evenly incorporated. Stir in dried cranberries and white chocolate chips. Make well in center.
2. In a separate small bowl combine eggs and yogurt, then pour into flour mixture. Stir together until just combined.
3. Place dough on a smooth floured surface. Sprinkle with flour and knead by folding and pressing until smooth and combined
4. Pat dough into flat, round circle and cut into 8 even triangular wedges. Placed on parchment lined baking sheet.
5. Lightly brush tops with milk and sprinkle with extra sugar for garnish. Bake at 400 F for 12-15 minutes, or until golden brown.

Tips for making the best scones

• Don’t soften your butter it must be cold for the perfect scone texture
• Don’t over-knead or it’ll toughen the dough
• Use this recipe as a base for any dried fruit you like; dried blueberries, raisins, figs and apricots work well
• Don’t flatten or roll out the scones too thin before cutting or you will have very dense scones that can dry out when baked 
• Make sure to brush the tops with milk before baking for a nice golden color
• Let the scones cool completely before serving
• Leftovers can be stored in a sealed container for up to 1 week at room temp, or frozen for longer storage 

Products used to make scones:

Stainless Steel Measuring Cups and Spoons Set
3-Piece Mixing Bowl Set, Blue/Green/Yellow
Victorinox Fibrox 8-Inch Chef’s Knife
16×22-Inch Aluminum Sheet Pan

Recipe at-a-glance:

• Flavor profiles: Sweet chocolate and juicy cranberries paired with buttery scones
• Difficulty: intermediate
• Texture: Moist, flaky and buttery with chunks or chocolate and chewy dried fruit

More delicious desserts you might like:

• Chewy Cranberry Maple Blondies with Walnut Butter
• Peppermint Buttercream Chocolate Crackle Cookie Sandwiches
• Marbled Skillet Brownie Cake (White Cake/Brownie)
• Black Forest Brownies with Toasted Almonds

Leave a comment below and star rating if you made this recipe or want to share your thoughts.

 

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5 from 5 votes

White Chocolate Cranberry Scones

White Chocolate Cranberry Scones recipe baked with cherry yogurt. Moist, flaky scones. White chocolate and cranberry add sweet texture to perfect scones.

Course Breakfast

Cuisine American

Keyword chocolate scones, cranberry scones, easy scones, moist scones

Prep Time 12 minutes minutes

Cook Time 12 minutes minutes

Total Time 24 minutes minutes

Calories 473kcal

Servings 8 large scones

Author: Matt Ivan

Did you know? Servings and ingredient amounts can be adjusted on all my recipes. Click the green number above to change.

Ingredients

• ▢ 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for kneading
• ▢ ½ cup granulated sugar, plus extra for garnish
• ▢ 4 teaspoons baking powder
• ▢ ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ▢ ¾ cup butter, chopped
• ▢ ¾ cup dried cranberries, Craisins
• ▢ ½ cup white chocolate chips
• ▢ 2 eggs lightly beaten
• ▢ ¾ cup yogurt, cherry or plain
• ▢ 3 tablespoons milk

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 400º F. In a large bowl stir together flour, sugar, baking power and baking soda. Add butter pieces and cut in with a pastry cutter, or break up and mix in with fingers, until evenly incorporated. 
• Stir in dried cranberries and white chocolate chips. Make a well in center.
• In separate small bowl combine eggs and yogurt, then pour into flour mixture. Stir together just until combined.
• This part will be messy, but fun! Place dough on a smooth floured surface. Sprinkle with flour and knead by folding and pressing until smooth and combined, about 8-10 times. You'll probably need to sprinkle on more flour as you go until it thickens. 
• Pat dough into flat, round circle about 1-inch thick and 9-inch diameter. Cut into 8 even triangular wedges. 
• Place scones on parchment lined baking sheet. Lightly brush tops with milk and sprinkle with extra sugar for garnish and a bit of crunch. 
• Bake at 400º for 12-15 minutes until golden brown. Cool slightly on wire rack and serve warm.

Notes

• Don't soften your butter it must be cold for the perfect scone texture
• Don't over-knead or it'll toughen the dough
• Use this recipe as a base for any dried fruit you like, raisins and apricots work really well
• Don't flatten or roll out the scones too thin before cutting or you will have very dense scones
• Make sure to brush the tops with milk before baking for a nice golden color
• Let the scones cool completely before serving
• Leftovers can be stored in a sealed container for up to 1 week or can be frozen

Nutrition Facts

White Chocolate Cranberry Scones

Amount Per Serving

Calories 473 Calories from Fat 207

% Daily Value*

Fat 23g35%

Saturated Fat 14g88%

Cholesterol 92mg31%

Sodium 262mg11%

Potassium 343mg10%

Carbohydrates 60g20%

Fiber 1g4%

Sugar 28g31%

Protein 7g14%

Vitamin A 625IU13%

Vitamin C 0.1mg0%

Calcium 160mg16%

Iron 2.3mg13%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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These white chocolate cranberry scones would make a perfect Mother’s Day brunch recipe. If you want more inspiration, check out my 20 Mother’s Day Brunch Recipes Roundup.