Let’s take a moment to pay homage to the first person who decided to pair cranberries and orange together, because they were onto something special. It’s an incredibly popular flavor combination for everything from muffins to cheesecake. And these Keto Cranberry Orange Scones are no exception!
I love nothing more than a buttery, flaky scone with my morning coffee. My multiple recipes for keto scones give me away! I have all sorts of flavors, including fun varieties like Cinnamon Roll Scones and my Starbucks copycat recipe for Keto Maple Pecan Scones.
And I do love that cranberry orange combo – I often make sugar-free cranberry sauce with a touch of orange zest for the holidays. These buttery, tender scones are the perfect foil for the bright citrus notes and the tart burst of the cranberries.
They’re easy to make, gorgeous on the table, and they taste every bit as good as the real thing.
Why we love this recipe
- Easy to make: Simple ingredients and straightforward instructions mean you can enjoy warm scones in under an hour.
- Festive flavor combo: These scones are perfect for an easy holiday brunch but they are delicious any time of year.
- Bakery-style texture: Flaky, buttery, and just the right amount of crumbly.
- Make-ahead friendly: Bake a batch on the weekends and enjoy them all week long!
- Gluten-free, sugar-free and keto-friendly: Each scone has only
Reader’s Thoughts
“OK, I have to say, I thought the blueberry and the strawberry cream were my faves until I made these! Hands down these are my favourite scones!!! So delicious and bright. They are especially wonderful at Christmas….but I love them so much I make them all year round!” — Gail
Ingredient Notes
- Keto flours: I use a combination of almond and coconut flour for these scones, to achieve the right texture.
- Sweetener: I recommend erythritol based sweeteners for the scones. You need a powdered for the glaze.
- Protein powder: A little bit of whey protein helps the scones rise more and makes them more flaky.
- Butter: Place the butter in the freezer for 30 minutes to firm up before grating.
- Heavy whipping cream: This adds extra tenderness to the scones
- Orange: Adding grated orange zest gives you orange flavor without the carbs.
- Cranberries: You can use fresh or frozen cranberries. See the Tips section for using frozen cranberries.
- Orange juice: Just a touch of orange juice gives additional flavor to the glaze.
- Pantry staples: Eggs, vanilla extract, baking powder and salt.
Overview: How to Make Flaky Keto Scones
- Combine the dry ingredients: Whisk together the flours, sweetener, protein powder, baking powder, and salt.
- Grate the butter: This ensures an even distribution of very small pieces of butter, which adds to the flaky texture.
Add the remaining ingredients: Stir in all of the wet ingredients, the orange zest, and the chopped cranberries. - Shape the dough: Pat the dough into a 7-inch circle and cut into 8 wedges. Spread the scones around the baking sheet.
- Bake the scones: You want the scones to be golden brown and just firm to the touch. Don’t over-bake them or they will be too dry.
- Glaze is optional: Whisk the powdered sweetener with the juice and drizzle over the cooled scones.
Tips for Success
- Grated butter is one of my best tricks for bakery-style keto scones. You want to chill it in the freezer for at least 30 minutes so that it doesn’t melt as you grate it.
- Chopped cranberries gives you better distribution throughout the scones and makes them hold together better as you cut the wedges.
- Frozen cranberries: If using frozen cranberries, chop them up while they are still frozen so they don’t squish as easily. You can add them to the dough thawed or still frozen after chopping.
- Cut straight done: Use a large sharp knife that you can straight up and down, rather than dragging it through the dough. The wedges will come out better.
- Lightly sweetened: Scones are not meant to be overly sweet, so the sweetener can be kept to a minimum.
Sweetener Options: I recommend erythritol based sweeteners for the scones themselves, as allulose will brown too quickly and make them overly soft. For the glaze, any powdered sweetener you like best should work.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you wish to replace the coconut flour, you will need an additional two thirds cup of almond flour. The nutritional information will change accordingly.
These scones are fine on the counter in a covered container for up to 4 days, or in the fridge for up to 8 days. They can also be frozen for several months.
This keto cranberry orange scone recipe has 8.2g of carbs and 4.8g of fiber per serving. That comes to 3.4g net carbs per scone.
More keto scone recipes
Keto Cranberry Orange Scones
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups almond flour
- 1/3 cup granular sweetener, (erythritol-based sweeteners recommended)
- 3 tbsp coconut flour
- 3 tbsp unflavored whey protein powder, or egg white protein powder
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup butter, frozen for 30 minutes
- 1 large egg
- 2 tbsp heavy whipping cream
- 2 tsp grated orange zest
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup fresh cranberries, chopped
- 1/3 cup powdered sweetener, (optional)
- 1 tbsp orange juice, (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325ºF and line a large baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the almond flour, sweetener, coconut flour, protein powder, baking powder, and salt. Grate the chilled butter over the dry ingredients and toss to combine.
- Stir in the egg, cream, orange zest, and vanilla extract until the dough comes together. Gently fold in the chopped cranberries.
- Turn the dough out onto the prepared baking sheet and pat into a 7-inch circle. Use a very sharp knife to cut into 8 wedges, cutting straight down, rather than dragging the knife through the dough.
- Wiggle under each wedge with a knife or offset spatula, and spread the scones around the baking sheet. Bake 18 to 23 minutes, until the edges are golden brown and the tops are firm to the touch.
- Remove and let cool completely on the pan.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sweetener and orange juice. Add water or more orange juice a tiny bit at a time until a drizzling consistency is achieved. Drizzle over the cooled scones.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
Please note that I am not a medical or nutritional professional. I am simply recounting and sharing my own experiences on this blog. Nothing I express here should be taken as medical advice and you should consult with your doctor before starting any diet or exercise program. I provide nutritional information for my recipes simply as a courtesy to my readers. It is calculated using MacGourmet software and I remove erythritol from the final carb count and net carb count, as it does not affect my own blood glucose levels. I do my best to be as accurate as possible but you should independently calculate nutritional information on your own before relying on them. I expressly disclaim any and all liability of any kind with respect to any act or omission wholly or in part in reliance on anything contained in this website.
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These scones are really good as all of your recipes are, very grateful for all of them…
Thanks so much!
Great to hear!
Holy cow these are AMAZING. Just the perfect amount of crumbly and buttery and touch of sweet. I added orange extract to the drizzle because I love some intense orange on my cranberry. This may be one of my favorite recipes! So good.
So glad you liked them!
can you use anything to substitute the whey protein or can you make without?
You can add a little more almond flour.
Trop sucré pour nous. Les saveurs et la texture sont parfaite !
These are so good! I like to over-bake them a bit and sunk them in my coffee. 😋😋😋
i just made these, i havent tasted them yet but they got really flat in the oven. i was hoping to have them turn out a little thicker. what coukd i have sone differently? followed the recipe exactly.
Sounds like you didn’t have quite enough flour.
Carolyn… I always have half and half on hand… do I dare substitute it for heavy cream?? Or add additional butter (?)
Thanks…. Love your recipes!
Yes, it would be fine. It’s not enough to really change the consistency.
Easy and delicious
These seem like an old-school recipe that needs an update. The texture and taste was boring.
Can you use dried cranberries instead of fresh?
Made these this morning for my husband, since he misses my old sugar-laden version, which has gone away forever. Found that I was able to mimic my old glaze using the juiced oranges, powdered swerve, & a tiny amount of xanthan gum powder, which I brushed on the warm scones. Thank you, Carolyn, for giving us a great starting point.
I was always told scones were very difficult to make. Thank you for proving that simply is not true! I’m a scone fanatic now also. And you have so many flavors that I will be making scones for quite awhile!
so fast and easy to make. delicious too
I love cranberries! Made these today and was pleasantly surprised at how light and tender they are. I didn’t add the icing yet but couldn’t help but taste one fresh out of the oven. Wow! I think you might have turned me into a Scone girl!
Can you use coconut cream instead of regular cream?
I think so, I haven’t tried it.