There’s not much I love more than rich and buttery scones, but this version of Whole Wheat Cranberry Scones is a nice, healthy alternative when the craving strikes.

If you’re looking to lighten things up this holiday season, these scones might be a good place to start.  They’re made with less butter than a classic recipe for scones, and they’re made with low fat buttermilk in place of cream. Whole wheat cranberry scones are dusted with powdered sugar, but you can always add a sweet glaze if you prefer more of a sweet topping.

These scones are made with a combination of white and whole wheat flour. The combination is perfect. I wouldn’t try making them with all whole wheat flour as they’ll come out too dense, and the flavor won’t be ideal.

How to make Whole Wheat Cranberry Scones:

Whisk together the dry ingredients, and then cut in cold butter until the mixture is crumbly (similar to the way you make pie crust). Then you’ll mix in dried cranberries and orange zest… then egg and buttermilk. You’ll handle the dough ingredients gently by stirring the ingredients together with a fork. Next you’ll gather the dough into a ball, pat it into a circle and place it on a baking sheet lined with parchment.

The circle of dough is cut into wedges, just like a pie. You won’t pull the wedges apart- just leave them be. And then you’ll bake it for 20 minutes. After baking, you’ll sprinkle with powdered sugar and then take a serrated knife and slice the scones into individual wedges.

Topping for these scones:

There’s a simple dusting of powdered sugar on these scones to keep them very light. If you’d like to sweeten things up, you can add a glaze to the tops of the scones. In a medium bowl, whisk together one cup of powdered sugar with 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract and 1 1/2 tablespoons of milk. Drizzle the vanilla glaze on top of the scones and let them sit until the glaze has firmed up a bit.

If you’re following Weight Watchers, they’re a bit of a splurge… but they’re do-able counting 8 points per scone. With so many indulgent things around us during the holidays, it’s nice to have a slight reprieve from all of the guilt. That being said, I do prefer to add the icing option to the top of these!!  But that’s part of my sugar addiction, I guess. Happy holidays, and enjoy!

Here are a few more recipes for scones you might like to try:

• Double Orange Scones with Orange Butter
• Blueberry Lemon Scones
• Copycat Starbucks Vanilla Bean Scones
• Chocolate Chip Scones
• Strawberry Buttermilk Scones
• Fresh Peach Scones
• Cranberry Orange Scones
• Snickerdoodle Scones

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