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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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!
Followed recipe exactly and the scones crumbled into a pile. No idea why? nothing was expired or old…
bummed
So something went VERY wrong… did you happen to use coconut flour instead of almond flour? Or did you use almond flour that’s been defatted (very fine and powdery, vs just ground almonds)?
I had the same problem as Thomas… Though I did everything that I was supposed to and even after they were cool they break .. crumble apart. I was wondering, even though I used Bob’s Red Mill, it did say fine grind on it. Maybe that was the issue? If I add zanthium gum to the mix, would that be helpful at all? I really want to make this work. They taste absolutely amazing!
No, it’s not the almond flour… that’s what I use. Maybe Xanthan gum would help but I think it’s a flour/butter ratio issue and maybe you need a touch more flour.
Thank you so much for responding Carolyn,
I cut up my cranberries a little smaller. I added a scant eighth of a teaspoon of xanthian gum and I also was more mindful of my flour butter ratio as you suggested. I must say they turned out beautiful. I just made them this morning, they’re cooled now and they taste as fabulous as ever! They’re holding together beautifully.
Thank you again so much for being so generous with your time and knowledge, this is definitely a winner recipe.
That’s great to hear!
Could you use dried cranberries as a substitution in this recipe?
Sure.
These are incredible. Hubby has had me make them several times now and they winners. Thank you!
Love your recipes! However, could you recommend a substitute for the coconut flour? Thanks
Hello Carolyn!
Ready to make these beauties today but wondering if I can sub the cocoa butter for coconut oil?
Thanks!
Jeannette
Yes, that should be fine.
I made these for a friend who is dairy free. I substituted Earth Balance soy free for the butter and almond milk for the heavy cream. I didn’t have any oranges to zest so I used 1.5 tsp of orange extract. For the glaze I didn’t measure but mixed powdered swerve with dribbles of almond milk and a couple of drops of vanilla until I got the consistency I wanted. They turned out amazing!
I don’t know if you see this. But I am so grateful for your substitutions. Dairy free, especially! And I don’t want to buy an orange when I have orange extract around the house, lol
I want to make this for new year’s. We don’t really eat oranges, so I would hate to zest one and waste the rest. Could I use orange extract here? If so, how much? Thanks Carolyn!
Sure, 1/2 a tsp to a full teaspoon, depending on the strength of your extract.
I want to make the cranberry orange scones and wondered if I could use frozen cranberries and chop them up? I have all the others ingredients but not fresh cranberries only frozen?
Yup, that works.
These look and sound delicious. But how are they as leftover. I find all Kato bread items to be dry and tasteless as leftover. What am I doing wrong? I have wasted so much.
They’re great as leftovers.
I just stumbled on this recipe and I want to try it, but between me and my husband we’re allergic to almost every non-sugar sweetener. Equal is the only one he can use, but that causes joint inflammation for me. I have liquid stevia that doesn’t effect me at all and has very little of an aftertaste, but it’s really potent. 16 drops is about the same as a little over 1.5 packets of Splenda. If I use this then the dough won’t have enough dry ingredients. Do you think it’s possible to modify the recipe enough that the dough comes out to the same consistency as yours without effecting the taste, or should I just go ahead and use regular sugar?
I honestly cannot say for sure but I don’t think that the stevia in place of the Swerve is going to actually affect the wet/dry ratio. i think it’s worth a try!
How do you store these? Could I make them Christmas Eve for Christmas breakfast?
If you’re only making them the day before, they will be fine in a covered container on the counter.
Hi Carolyn, thank you for great recipes, I made this a few days ago, amazing taste, but it was very fragile even when they were cool. I just wanted to ask it they are supposed to be that fragile?
No, they really shouldn’t be. What brands of sweetener and almond flour did you use? Keto baked goods are always somewhat more fragile than traditional but you should be able to pick them up in one piece.
I used swerve confectioners and Kirkland brand almond flour and bob’s coconut flour. When they are cool, I have not that much problem lifting them, but if they get a bit warm, like room temperature, they become very crumbly.
Could be your brand of almond flour, but also the scones themselves are supposed to have regular Swerve Sweetener, not powdered.
Oh!! I’m going to try it again with granular Swerve this time, thank you very much Carolyn! I love all of your recipes I’ve tried so far.
I made this for breakfast today. The scones were amazing! Thank you for another great recipe!
Fantastic recipe for scones! Thank you! Tried a different flavor combination to the basic scone recipe that you may like. Added 1 tablespoon finely chopped rosemary to the dry ingredients, shaped on pan, then made a small well on top of each scone for about 1/4 tsp. of favorite sugar free jam (I used strawberry) after cooled made a lemon juice,swerve drizzle over the top.
Thanks to you I can now eat my favorite scones! Did realize need silicone mat rather than parchment to control browning.
Hi Carolyn,
I have Lily’s white chocolate bar. How would I substitute for the white chips? I couldn’t figure out how many ounces you are using.
Thank you!
Judy the Baker
I think it’s 2 ounces.
How would I make this dairy free? Any suggestions? Thanks I love your recipes. Just lately I found out that I need to be dairy free. ????