Next up in our 12 Tastes of Christmas series is the perfect treat for holiday mornings, brought to you by Jess. You know her as the author of our biweekly Perfect Bite column – but if you haven’t read her darling food blog Forgiving Martha, head on over to peruse her collection of mouthwatering recipes and beautiful photography. I know from firsthand tasting: the girl can cook! Take it away, Jess…
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Black Friday is upon us, my friends, and today’s breakfast treat will start your marathon shopping day just right! After an amazing Thanksgiving Day, I’m ready to start infusing my baking with a major dose of holiday cheer…
The Starbucks version doesn’t hold a candle to these warm, fresh-from-the-oven scones. Besides being a lovely accompaniment to morning coffee, these scones are quick & simple to throw together. The cranberries add a touch of sweetness to the perfectly flaky dough – pile them into a basket as an amazing “good morning” for overnight guests.
For a more decadent treat, sub the cranberries for dark chocolate chips. Or just add them both.
Cranberry Scones
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
5 tablespoons sugar, plus 1 tablespoon for topping
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
6 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
2/3 cup (plus 1 tablespoon) half-and-half
1/2 cup halved cranberries, drained on paper towels (or dried dried cranberries)
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; Set aside.
- Whisk together flour, 5 tablespoons sugar, baking powder, spices and salt. Cut in butter with a pastry blender or two knives until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in 2/3 cup half-and-half or until just moistened. Gently fold in cranberries.
- On a lightly floured surface, knead dough gently, 5 to 10 times. Pat into a 1-inch-thick round. Cut into 8 wedges; place on a baking sheet, 2 inches apart. Brush tops with remaining tablespoon half-and-half; sprinkle with remaining tablespoon sugar.
- Bake until golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack.
*Adapted from Martha
Those look wonderful!! Perfect for Christmas morning breakfast! I could actually use one right now…
Yum and they look east to make!
Hi,
I love your blog and just wanted pass along a master list of 20+ Black Friday Sales for fashion I created at my blog: http://www.breathe-design.com/
Thought it would be lovely to share it with you and your readers! It surely won’t disappoint!
Happy holidays and shopping!
xo
Christine
Yum Yum! Must make these for my next out of town guests!!
I just made these with the addition of white chocolate chips and an itsy bit of vanilla extract. (I’m in college, and this is our last week of classes to end a *very* long semester—celebration is in order). They are soooo goood. Thanks for sharing; this recipe is a keeper.
Saw your post through Tastespotting.com; I just baked these and they turned out well. The cream and sugar on top makes for a nice crust. I went the route of both cranberries and dark chocolate–such a good idea…
Yum – that sounds like an amazing combination!
I made these this weekend – used fresh cranberries cut in half and added semi sweet mini choc chips = they turned out incredible! Definitely a keeper – I’ve been looking for a winning recipe for scones, and I can see myself creating unlimited variations of these – thank you!!
So glad to hear that – and never thought of using FRESH cranberries. Genius!
Just made them for a high tea I am planning they came out to be better than the ones at the Ritz!!