Home Baking: How To Make Christmas Fruit Scones

Christmas afternoon tea with a plate of warm fruit scones, clotted cream and jam is one of the most gloriously festive traditions, and our Christmas scones recipe takes this beloved classic and gives it a wonderfully festive twist.

Simple, quick, and absolutely delicious.

Whether you are baking for Christmas Eve afternoon tea, Boxing Day visitors, or simply treating yourself to something warm and festive on a cold December afternoon, these beautiful spiced fruit scones will become your new favourite Christmas baking tradition.

What You Will Need – Christmas Fruit Scones

The beauty of this recipe is its brilliant simplicity, just a handful of storecupboard ingredients with a few festive additions that transform a classic scone into something truly magical:

350g self-raising flour: Plus extra for dusting

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp mixed spice: The key festive flavour addition

½ tsp cinnamon: For warmth and depth

85g cold butter: Cubed

3 tbsp caster sugar

75g dried cranberries: For that gorgeous festive colour

Zest of one orange: Adds the most wonderful Christmas fragrance

175ml cold milk: Plus extra for brushing

1 egg: Beaten for glazing

To serve: Clotted cream and your favourite Christmas jam – Cranberry works beautifully.

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How To Make Your Christmas Scones Recipe – Step By Step

Step 1 – Preheat your oven to 220°C fan 200°C, gas mark 7. Lightly flour a baking tray and set aside.

Step 2 – Make your dough. Sift the flour, baking powder, mixed spice and cinnamon into a large bowl. Add the cold cubed butter and rub together with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Work quickly to keep everything cold.

Step 3 – Add the festive ingredients. Stir in the sugar, dried cranberries and orange zest until evenly distributed throughout the mixture.

Step 4 – Bring it together. Make a well in the centre and pour in the cold milk. Mix gently with a palette knife until a soft dough forms – do not overwork it.

Step 5 – Cut and glaze. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and pat gently to around 2.5cm thick. Cut out your scones with a floured cutter – press straight down without twisting for the best rise. Brush the tops with beaten egg.

Step 6 – Bake for 12-15 minutes until beautifully golden and well risen. Cool on a wire rack for ten minutes before serving.

Step 7 – Serve and enjoy. Split warm and top generously with clotted cream and cranberry jam. Serve immediately with a proper pot of tea and enjoy every single festive bite.

How To Serve Your Christmas Scones

The great British scone debate: cream first or jam first?.

Cornwall insists on clotted cream first, then jam. Devon firmly disagrees. We take no sides but suggest you try both and reach your own delicious conclusion.

For a truly festive serving suggestion, arrange your warm scones on a tiered cake stand alongside a pot of clotted cream, a jar of cranberry jam and a fresh pot of tea.

Add a sprig of holly and a dusting of icing sugar for the most beautiful Christmas afternoon tea table imaginable.

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Christmas Scone Variations

Once you have mastered the classic Christmas fruit scone, the variations are absolutely endless:

• Cheese and cranberry scones: replace the sugar and cranberries with 100g strong cheddar and a handful of dried cranberries, brilliant with Christmas leftovers.
• Clementine and ginger scones: swap orange zest for clementine and add a teaspoon of ground ginger for a wonderfully warming festive twist.
• Chocolate chip Christmas scones: add 75g dark chocolate chips for the most indulgent festive afternoon treat imaginable
• Gluten-free Christmas scones: simply swap the self-raising flour for a quality gluten-free alternative.

• 👉 Need a gluten-free option? Don’t miss our Gluten Free Christmas Bread Recipe for more wonderful festive baking!

Warm, golden, gloriously spiced and completely irresistible, our Christmas scones recipe is the festive baking project that delivers maximum reward for minimum effort every single time.

Make a batch on Christmas Eve, fill your kitchen with the most wonderful festive fragrance, and watch every single one disappear before you have even put the kettle on.