I don't think it is possible for me to EVER get tired of making and eating scones. After pancakes, it's my next passion. They are my Saturday morning thing that I look forward to most of the week; that and sleeping in FINALLY!
I bought some egg nog on a whim since it was on sale and I usually can't get enough during the season, so I thought it would be perfect to throw into some scones. My daughters totally agreed too. They suggested I add white chocolate chips, I wanted fresh cranberries, so I did cranberries and a white chocolate chip glaze. (I did, however, make a batch for the girls with just white chocolate chips since I knew they wouldn't eat the ones with cranberries.) The verdict: delish! It just doesn't get much better than this when eating things in season.
Cranberry Egg Nog Scones with White Chocolate Glaze
2 cups whole wheat flour (half whole wheat half white is ok too)
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/3 cup sucanat (or other sugar)
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
pinch of allspice
6 Tbsp. cold butter, cut into cubes
1 1/2 cups fresh cranberries, coarsely chopped
1 cup egg nog
1/8 tsp. rum extract
for the glaze:
2 oz white chocolate chips
3/4 cup powdered sugar
2 Tbsp. milk
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
In a mixing bowl fitted with a blade attachment, add the flour, baking powder, salt, sucanat and spices. Pulse a couple times to blend. Add butter and whiz until mixture becomes a coarse meal. Alternately you could use a pastry blender or two knives to cut butter in.
Pour flour mixture into a regular mixing bowl and add cranberries. Toss to coat. Add egg nog and rum extract and stir until mixture comes together. It will be shaggy. Turn dough onto floured surface. Fold dough over about 3-4 times and pat out into about 3/4-1-inch thickness. Use a biscuit cutter to cut out scones. Place scones on silicone or parchment lined baking sheet. Pat scraps together gently and cut out the rest of the dough.
Bake for 12-15 minutes or until lightly golden. Remove from oven and cool on wire rack. While scones are cooling, make the glaze.
For the white chocolate glaze, melt the chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl for twenty second increments at 50% power or less, stirring in between. Add the milk and gently whisk it with the melted chocolate. Warm in microwave a few seconds, if necessary. Add powdered sugar and whisk until smooth. Drizzle on cooled scones.
Scones are best eaten fresh. You can freeze any cut out scones you do not want to bake by placing them on a plate or large tray and putting them in the freezer for a couple of hours. Transfer to an airtight container to store. When ready to bake, place frozen scones on baking sheet, as above, adding about 5 minutes to bake time.
