Did I ever tell you guys about the whole grain bread bakery Jeff & I used to own? I don’t believe I did. It feels like it was a lifetime ago! Anyway, it’s true! Five days a week, we were awake and on the road to the bakery by 2 a.m. {gulp!}. We would grind wheat berries fresh every morning for flour for the never-ending loaves of bread we kneaded daily. My arms never looked so good, hahaha! The promise of one of our warm Cranberry White Chocolate Scones fresh from the oven every Saturday morning was the only thing that got my hind end out of bed on our last workday of the week!
Rich and fluffy oatmeal scones, studded with chewy sweet dried cranberries and rich white chocolate morsels. I can still feel the heat of the oven on my back as I leaned against it in the quiet of the early morning hours. Enjoying every little fluffy, chewy, sweet morsel! Please don’t call them “stones,” as some people refer to them. I think scones get a bad rap! I have tried plenty of them, and I agree most are dry and leave you choking on dry crumbs that launch to the back of your throat and leave you desperately seeking some liquid refreshment to save yourself with. But, these are not those!
The secrets to moist and tender scones are…
- Use super cold ingredients! The buttermilk, butter, and eggs should be cold. This ensures you’ll create a fluffy scone!
- Chill the scooped scones for at least an hour and up to one day before baking them. We always made the scone dough and scooped them the day before we baked them. The rest time in the fridge gives the gluten that is worked during the mixing step time to relax. The scones will be tender and not tough.
- Bake the scones using high heat! The high temperature of the oven {400°} turns the butter into steamy air pockets and creates fluffy layers!
- Do not overmix the dough! Mix just until the ingredients are combined and no streaks of dry flour are present. Over mixing activates the gluten in the flour and creates a hockey puck!
The finishing touch to Cranberry White Chocolate Scones is my favorite part. The top and sides of the chilled scones are rolled in sanding sugar. If you’re not familiar with sanding sugar, it is an extra coarse variety of granulated sugar. It adds a beautiful crunch, sparkle, and sprinkle of magic to the baked scones. Regular granulated sugar can be used, but I highly recommend sanding sugar.
Speaking of sprinkling magic!
Have you started your holiday shopping? This holiday season, Jeff and I are supporting small businesses with our gift purchases. I recently have become friends with two amazingly talented ladies, Indre and Rasa, on Instagram that own Mr. Bowl Ceramics. They were kind enough to gift me the plates pictured in the photos for this blog post.
Indre and Rasa make all of the pieces available for purchase on their site by hand. And it’s just the two of them! They do everything! From digging their hands into wet clay every day, to lovingly glazing and firing each piece to their finished state. Gently packing each order and shipping to their new home. The quality of their pieces is breathtakingly beautiful. Each piece is sturdy, with the highest quality finish I have ever had the pleasure of using. I also love that Mr. Bowl Ceramics offer their handmade pieces for purchase individually. There are many gorgeous small plates, dinner plates, utensil holders, soup bowls, and more available on their site.
I adore food gifts!
I bet you know several people that would love a handmade plate made by Mr. Bowl Ceramics filled with Cranberry White Chocolate Scones this holiday season!
A soup bowl filled with Triple Chocolate Nutella Granola is another great gift-giving idea this holiday season!
*Please note, the plates featured in this post were gifted to me by Mr. Bowl Ceramics. All opinions expressed are my own.
*There is an affiliate link in this post via the sanding sugar. If you purchase this item via the link, I may receive a commission at no extra cost. Thank you for your continued love and support of Yums & Kisses!
*The recipe for Cranberry White Chocolate Scones is not the recipe we used in our bakery back in the day. That recipe went along with the sale of the bakery. This is my own creation from my home kitchen.
I wish you all a beautiful beginning to a blessed holiday season! I’ll be back soon with another holiday recipe to share! See you then, my sweet friends! Love you! Sprinkle your beautiful magic everywhere you go!
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Cranberry White Chocolate Scones
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 23 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 33 minutes
- Yield: Serves 8 1x
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
Cranberry White Chocolate Scones! A delicious and easy holiday baking recipe! No kneading or cutting required! Mix, scoop, bake, and enjoy! This is a rich oatmeal scone loaded with chewy, sweetened dried cranberries and rich white chocolate morsels. Terrific for gift-giving, or keep them all for yourself!
Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup regular rolled oats
1/4 cup light brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
6 Tablespoons cold butter
1 cup dried sweetened cranberries
3/4 cup white chocolate chips
3/4 cup whole-fat buttermilk { + 1 Tablespoon, if needed}
1 large cold egg, lightly beaten
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
sanding sugar for dipping the unbaked scones
Instructions
Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, oats, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and sea salt.
Using the large holes on a grater, grate the cold butter into the flour mixture. Toss well to combine. Using clean hands is the best way to do this. I find using a spatula frustrating for this step.
Add the dried cranberries and white chocolate chips. Combine thoroughly.
In a medium mixing bowl, combine the 3/4 cup buttermilk with the beaten egg and vanilla extract.
Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients. Use a large rubber spatula to gently stir and combine the ingredients until thoroughly moistened. If needed, add the reserved one tablespoon of buttermilk. The mixture should be combined with no dry-streaks of flour present.
Using a large ice cream scoop, scoop 8 level scones onto the cookie sheet. Place in the refrigerator to chill for one hour. About 30 minutes into the chilling time, start the oven.
Preheat the oven to 400°.
Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
Place the sanding sugar into a medium-size bowl.
After one hour, remove the scones from the refrigerator. Dip each one top side down into the bowl of sanding sugar. Press gently and roll the top and sides of each chilled scone in the sugar to coat.
Place four scones on each lined tray. Immediately pop them into the oven.
Bake for 20-23 minutes. Mine bake for 21 minutes. They will be golden brown with a slight crust. The center will have an internal temperature of 182°~if you’re a baking nerd like me, temp the scone to be sure it is thoroughly baked. Do not over-bake, or the scones will be dry.
Notes
- Regular granulated sugar may be used in place of the sanding sugar. The scones will have a nice sugar coating but won’t be as sparkly.
- Keep all the ingredients as cold as possible throughout the mixing process. The key to this recipe is cold ingredients.
- Be sure to use regular rolled oats. This recipe does not work with instant or quick-cooking oats.
- Cranberry White Chocolate Scones are best enjoyed the day they are baked. They also freeze well.
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: cranberry white chocolate scones, holiday baking, holiday food gifts, easy baking recipe, scones, drop scones
