Cranberry and White Chocolate Scones are bursting with holiday flavors and are perfect for your Christmas morning breakfast!
Do y'all have anything that you eat every Christmas morning? Ours was always a huge pot of grits (PSA my mom makes THE MOST amazing grits of all time - they are life-changing) and a breakfast casserole. I loved it and looked forward to it every year.
Justin grew up eating monkey bread before opening gifts. We have now combined our favorites and have a little of both that we had growing up.
Today we are going a different direction and making Cranberry and White Chocolate Scones with soft scrambled eggs.
O.M.G
My sweet friend, Morgan, loves homemade baking just as much as I do. When I found out she grew up making homemade pie crust and homemade whipped cream I knew we got each other on a deep level....if you know what I mean then you know what I mean 😉 We talk about our love for baking constantly and always are sharing our goodies and talking about the latest episode of The Great British Baking Show!
Morgan and her family have family from and who live in England, so scones and tea are kind of her thing. She is the one who got me hooked on English breakfast tea with a splash of whole milk that I have every morning. And if you have the privilege of going to her home and her making homemade scones for you, then you, my friend have arrived.
Ingredients Needed
- All-Purpose or Pastry Flour
- Baking Powder
- 1Baking Soda
- Salt
- Sugar
- Unsalted Butter
- Fresh Cranberries
- White Chocolate Pieces
- Orange Zest
- Buttermilk
- Vanilla Extract
- Orange Extract
Vanilla Glaze
- 1 cup Confectioner’s Sugar
- 2-3 Tablespoons Cream - to desired consistency
- 1⁄2 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
How to Make
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar.
- Cut in the chilled butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
- Add in cranberries, white chocolate pieces, and orange zest, and evenly distribute throughout. Set aside in the fridge while mixing liquid ingredients.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, vanilla extract, and orange extract
- Retrieve flour mix from the fridge. Make a well in the center of the flour mix. Pour the buttermilk mixture into the center of the well. Using a fork, mix ingredients until just combined, incorporating the flour mixture into the milk mixture from the outer rim of the bowl to the center of the bowl, turning the bowl as you go. The dough should be soft and cohesive. If necessary, add a tablespoon or two additional milk to achieve the desired dough texture.
- Turn dough out onto a floured surface and shape into a disc about 3⁄4 inches thick.
- Cut into the desired shape using a round cutter or cutting into triangle wedges with a dough cutter.
- Chill in the freezer for 20-30 minutes.
- While the dough is chilling, position the oven rack to the upper half of the oven and preheat the oven to 425F.
- Lightly brush tops of scones with milk and sand with sugar.
- Place scones in the oven and immediately reduce heat to 400F. Bake scones for approximately 20 minutes, or until tops and bottoms are lightly golden brown.
- Cool on tray for a few minutes before removing and placing on a wire rack to cool for an additional 10 minutes.
- In a small bowl, mix all glaze ingredients until smooth. Drizzle lightly over tops of scones. (optional)
Recipe Tips
The baking powder in the scones recipe helps the scones rise and be fluffy.
Make sure that your baking powder is fresh too. It only lasts 6 months after opening. So if your scones aren't rising, check to see if your baking powder is old.
These scones are delicious by themselves, but they can also be served with vanilla glaze, quality butter, or whipped cream.
How to Freeze
Once the scones are baked and cooled, place in an airtight freezer-safe bag or vacuum seal and place in the freezer for up to 6 months (or 2 years if vacuum-sealed).
To enjoy, remove from the freezer, and place in the fridge to thaw for 24 hours. Enjoy cold, room temp, or hot.
These Cranberry and White Chocolate Scones were very easy to make. You can also make them ahead of time, either a couple of days before or today, and freeze until Christmas, and that way you have zero cooking to do Christmas morning.
Just enjoy at room temp or pop in the microwave for 10 seconds to warm up. I highly encourage making some soft scrambled eggs to go alongside them - or even some fresh fruit, a cup of coffee, or tea - oh heck, make a mimosa while you're at it. It's Christmas morning after all!
Recipe
Cranberry and White Chocolate Scones
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: 12
Description
This Cranberry and White Chocolate Scones recipe are from my dear friend Moran Haley & her mom Lois Haley. They are bursting with holiday flavors and are perfect for your Christmas morning breakfast!
Ingredients
- 2 Cups All-Purpose or Pastry Flour - spooned into a measuring cup, leveled off with a knife, and sifted
- 2 1⁄2 Teaspoons Baking Powder
- 1⁄4 Teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1⁄2 Teaspoon Salt
- 1⁄4 Cup Sugar - plus 1 tablespoon additional for sanding tops of scones
- 8 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter - frozen or well chilled *
- ⅔ Cup Fresh Cranberries *
- ⅓ Cup White Chopped Chocolate Pieces
- 2 Teaspoons Orange Zest
- ⅔ cup Cold Buttermilk - plus 1 tablespoon for tops of scones *
- 1⁄2 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 1⁄2 Teaspoon Orange Extract *
Vanilla Glaze (optional)
- 1 cup Confectioner’s Sugar
- 2-3 Tablespoons Cream - to desired consistency
- 1⁄2 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Serve Warm Scones With
- Vanilla Glaze
- Quality Butter
- Whipped Cream
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar.
- Cut in the chilled butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
- Add in cranberries, white chocolate pieces, and orange zest, and evenly distribute throughout. Set aside in the fridge while mixing liquid ingredients.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, vanilla extract, and orange extract
- Retrieve flour mix from the fridge. Make a well in the center of the flour mix. Pour the buttermilk mixture into the center of the well. Using a fork, mix ingredients until just combined, incorporating the flour mixture into the milk mixture from the outer rim of the bowl to the center of the bowl, turning the bowl as you go. The dough should be soft and cohesive. If necessary, add a tablespoon or two additional milk to achieve the desired dough texture.
- Turn dough out onto a floured surface and shape into a disc about 3⁄4 inches thick.
- Cut into the desired shape using a round cutter or cutting into triangle wedges with a dough cutter.
- Chill in the freezer for 20-30 minutes.
- While the dough is chilling, position oven rack to the upper half of the oven and preheat oven to 425F.
- Lightly brush tops of scones with milk and sand with sugar.
- Place scones in the oven and immediately reduce heat to 400F. Bake scones for approximately 20 minutes, or until tops and bottoms are lightly golden brown.
- Cool on tray for a few minutes before removing and placing on a wire rack to cool for an additional 10 minutes.
- In a small bowl, mix all glaze ingredients until smooth. Drizzle lightly over tops of scones. (optional)
Notes
Notes are my own outside of the written recipe
- I used salted butter instead of unsalted and it works just as well, so use whatever you have.
- I chopped the cranberries into quarters instead of using the whole cranberry.
- I ended up adding a couple of tablespoons more of buttermilk to the mixture so all the dry ingredients combined together.
- I realized I didn't have any orange extract so I added double the orange zest and felt there was plenty of orange flavors.
- These can be made the day before or ahead of time. They serve beautifully at room temp or pop in the microwave for 10 seconds to warm. They also freeze well - place in a freezer-safe ziplock bag and store in the freezer for up to 3 months.
*recipe is written by Lois & Morgan Haley
- Prep Time: 35 Minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Scones
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Breakfast
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 scones
- Calories: 244
- Sugar: 9.9 g
- Sodium: 182.8 mg
- Fat: 12.1 g
- Carbohydrates: 30.7 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 3.8 g
- Cholesterol: 28.3 mg
Be sure to check out Lois (@kindred.kitchen) & Morgan's (@findingmorgantyler) Instagram page and here for the eBook. And thank you to them for letting me share this recipe with you today!