Christmas Cranberry Scones: 5 Steps to Perfect Festivity Recipe
These Christmas Cranberry Scones are a delightful festive treat, featuring tender, buttery scones studded with fresh cranberries and lightly sweetened with sugar. Perfect for holiday breakfasts or afternoon tea, these scones are quick to prepare and bake to golden perfection in just 20 minutes.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 8 scones 1x
- Category: Baking
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
Scale
Dry Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Wet Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, cold and cubed
- 1 cup fresh cranberries, chopped
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven: Preheat your oven to 400°F (200°C) to ensure it reaches the perfect temperature for baking the scones evenly and developing a golden crust.
- Mix dry ingredients: In a large bowl, combine the all-purpose flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt, mixing well to distribute the leavening and seasoning uniformly.
- Add butter: Incorporate the cold, cubed unsalted butter into the dry ingredients. Use a pastry cutter or your fingertips to blend until the mixture becomes crumbly with pea-sized butter pieces remaining.
- Fold in cranberries: Gently stir in the chopped fresh cranberries, ensuring they are evenly distributed without breaking them too much.
- Prepare wet mixture: In a separate bowl, whisk together the heavy cream, large egg, and vanilla extract until smooth and well combined.
- Combine wet and dry: Pour the wet ingredients onto the dry mixture and stir until just combined, taking care not to overmix which can make the scones tough.
- Knead dough: Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead gently a few times to bring it together into a cohesive dough.
- Shape and cut: Shape the dough into a circle about 1-inch thick, then cut into 8 equal wedges or scones using a sharp knife or bench scraper.
- Bake scones: Place the wedges onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, spaced slightly apart, and bake in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes until the scones are puffed, golden brown, and cooked through.
- Cool and serve: Remove from the oven and let the scones cool on the baking sheet for several minutes before transferring them to a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature, perfect with butter or clotted cream.
Notes
- Using cold butter is crucial for flaky scones as it creates steam pockets when baking.
- Chopping cranberries prevents them from weighing down the dough but still provides bursts of tart flavor.
- Do not overmix the dough to keep the scones tender.
- For a sweeter finish, brush the tops with a milk glaze and sprinkle sugar before baking.
- Scones are best enjoyed the day they are made though they can be stored in an airtight container for 2 days or frozen for longer storage.
Keywords: Christmas scones, cranberry scones, holiday baking, festive scones, breakfast scones, cranberry recipes
