Warm Cranberry Scone Recipe with Fresh Rosemary (2024)

It was a cold and rainy morning, so cranberry scones were on my list of things to bake. Nothing screams comfort food like warm scones out of the oven, right? Add a cup of hot apple cider, and a cranberry scones reaches heavenly heights.

So, off I went to make a batch of scones. My family loved them, but something was missing.

Cranberry Rosemary Scone Inspiration

While walking past our little side garden, I noticed that my rosemary was still going wild even in November. It doesn’t get as cold in the Mid-Atlantic region of the U.S.A. anymore. My herbs are holding on through winter, popping back up in spring. Even my mint goes wild, but really, nothing can kill mint.

Rosemary is used in all sorts of savory recipes, but not as often in baking. We rub rosemary into turkey on Thanksgiving, along with a side of cranberry sauce. Why couldn’t I combine these two essential holiday flavors into one baked good? No reason at all!

Actually, I can’t take the credit. My husband asked me to add rosemary after I made a test batch of cranberry scones one night. He thought that little extra bit of herbaceous flavor would give them some more depth.

He wasn’t wrong.

Cranberry Scone Recipe

Many people make cranberry orange scones and leave it at that. I wanted to try a different twist on the traditional cranberry scone recipe using my homegrown herbs. As the holidays approached, mixing a few autumn flavors seemed like a good idea.

I could test my cranberry rosemary scones on my kids and neighbors. I’d let them decide if it was a good combination or not.

Over tea and scones, we all agreed that cranberry with rosemary was the perfect combination. My husband said I could even add in a little more rosemary. So, I did just that in my final cranberry scone recipe. No more going back to boring old citrus and tart cranberry scones for us.

Now for the holidays, I have a little something to show off to our extended families. Scones make the perfect appetizer or post-holiday breakfast treat.

Try my English Early Grey Scone Recipe too!

Scone Recipe Tips

I’ve read a lot about scones, and have taste tested even more while traveling in Scotland, Ireland and London. One bit of advice reigns supreme- you need cold hands to make great scones. That goes for ingredients too.

While I use frozen butter and chill my flour, I also stick a metal bowl in the freezer. My butter will stay cold as long as possible when I’m incorporating it into the dry ingredients in my scone recipe.

My poor husband often finds containers of flour in our freezer. I want to be able to make scones without waiting whenever I want.

It’s not an obsession, it’s just practical. Right?

Cranberry Scone Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cups of all-purpose flour (cold)
• 4 tsp baking powder
• 1/3 cup of white sugar
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 2 tbsp fresh rosemary
• 5 tablespoons unsalted cold butter (frozen)
• 1/2 cup of milk
• 1/4 cup of sour cream
• Egg wash (1 egg + 1 tbsp milk or heavy cream)

Cranberry scone directions

• Preheat oven to 400°F.
• Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Combine rosemary, sugar and cranberries in a food processor, giving it a good grind.
• Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a chilled, large bowl.
• Grate the cold butter into the flour mixture.
• Use your fingers or a pastry blender to combine the flour mixture and butter, creating a crumbly, pea-size mix.
• Whisk in the rosemary cranberry sugar mixture.
• Combine the chilled milk and sour cream in a small bowl.
• Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients. Stir gently with your fingers or a fork until just combined and dough forms.
• Flour your hands and pour dough out onto a lightly floured surface.

• Flatten the scone dough into a circle or rectangle, about 1/2 inch thick.
• Using a 1-1/2 inch circle cookie cutter (or a champagne glass), cut out about 30 rounds.
• Space dough about 2-3 inches apart on your prepared baking sheets.
• Brush the top of each scone with the egg wash using a pastry brush. (Egg wash =1 egg + 1 tbsp of milk, whisked together)
• Let cranberry scones rest for about 10 minutes.
• Bake the scones for 10-12 minutes, until tops are golden brown. You may need to go to 15 minutes, depending on your oven.
• Serve immediately, as scones are always best warm.